Awakening To Hyrule
by SolitaryHowl
Summary: -TP- Sequel to The Legend of the Rebel. Things are not always what they seem in this epic and tearjerking adventure. Three heroes fight for Hyrule and her people. They fight against an evil tyrant bent on world domination. They fight for freedom and peace
1. Waiting and Waiting

**AN: ZOMG GARRIAFS! IT'S THE SEQUEL! XD**

**Yes, this is the sequel to 'The Legend of the Rebel' even though the story is only half way to being finished…I wanted to get a sequel started before I forgot all the ideas that I have floating around in my brain. **

**The beginning part of Terra being sucked into the game is actually based on real events. Like, I didn't actually get sucked into the game…but I was waiting in the dentist's office for three hours waiting to get my annual checkup. They were apparently busy that day, but I think they just didn't like me. O.o**

**Special Thanks goes to PeachTheHedgehog for coming up with Terra's name, and also encouraging me to follow through with this sequel. I would also like to thank PTH for helping me come up with Terra's animal that she transforms into, which is the coyote. **

**This story is mainly Terra's POV. I think I write a lot better when I write from a character's POV instead of third-person. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda. Or Dr. Phil. Or Jerry Springer. Or Nintendo Power. Or EGM (electronic gaming monthly) Or Clifford. Or Franklin. In fact, I don't own anything that is currently successful such as magazines and stuff….XD**

**But, I do own Terra, and any changes to the plot that I can come up with. Not to mention her 'creature's' description.**

_**Awakening to Hyrule**_

I groaned when my brother was the next to go in line. I was at the dentist's office for my yearly checkup, and I was sure I had a couple of cavities. The problem was though, is that it has already been two hours since we've arrived at the place. My older brother was having a root canal, so the dentist was busier than normal.

Not to mention that there was only on dentist, and that this place was packed today. I mean honestly, can't they hire just one more dentist? Just one and I'm sure everybody would be happy.

My family and I were currently in the waiting room for our annual checkups. I looked around the room in boredom. The room wasn't anything special really. The walls were painted a pale yellow and the floor was a grey colour. There were two circular windows- I was currently sitting in front of one- and there was a coffee table with stacks of books and magazines on it.

I rolled my eyes as yet another episode of Dr. Phil started on the T.V that was in the waiting room.

I might as well explain myself while I'm waiting. My name is Terra, I have dark brown hair and green/blue eyes, I am 18 years old and currently in my last year of high school.

I figited with the clothes I was currently wearing, which was a pair of blue jeans and a green t-shirt. I like wearing simple clothes, if you couldn't tell.

"You need to express yourself in different ways and you need to calm down…" I glared up at the T.V that still had Dr. Phil on. He was currently trying to teach a young couple about love and how it's not safe to use birth control.

Pffft, it's more like Jerry Springer now.

I turned my attention away from the 20'' flat screen T.V that was hanging on the wall to look to see if there was any good reading material.

I scanned the titles of magazines, not really interested. I didn't like those fashion magazines, I was more into video game magazines such as Nintendo Power and EGM. Unfortunately, the dentist had no such magazine type in the waiting room.

I continued to look through the magazines and books, occasionally stopping to see if a book caught my eye.

Nothing yet though.

I sighed and sat back in my chair. I looked around the room and noted that my younger sister had ran towards the table in the waiting room to pick up the latest Guiness Book of World Records. She was still reading it intently. I was sure she was trying to break the record on how long a person could read a record book.

My sister, named Anna, was only 14 years old while my brother named Kevin, was 19 years of age.

My brother was getting a root canal done because he foolishly rode his bike down a trail too fast and fell off, successfully knocking out one front tooth and loosening another one. Kevin had an overbite like me, meaning that he front teeth stick out slightly more than the rest of the teeth in the mouth.

My mom was currently reading a fashion magazine, which I despise so greatly, and my dad wasn't here. He never went to dentist's appointments, but his teeth were still sparkling white. I didn't understand how that worked, but I just shrugged it off.

I continued to sift through the pile of books, which were commonly children's books. I rolled my eyes at the sight of Clifford and Franklin books.

A thick book caught my eye and it was entitled, Lost Cities of the Past. I flipped to the table of contents to see what was in this book.

Hmm, let's see. Rome, pg. 157. Atlantis, pg. 139

I loved reading about Atlantis and the theories behind it. I flipped to the page that had the Atlantis section and began reading.

I was flabbergasted on how much isn't known about Atlantis. You'd think that they would just dive down there and get artifacts and such, but the ocean current erodes away the precious edvidence and buries it deep underground. I flipped the page to read some more, but the section was cut off. I glared at the title of the section, trying to remember where I've seen the name before. The name was entitled 'Hyrule' and there was only two sentences which said the following,

"Only the Chosen One is allowed to read this section of the book. Once this passage is read by the Chosen One, her destiny will begin."

Okay, that was freaky. I suddenly felt really dizzy and I had trouble keeping awake. I remember falling on the floor and my mother frantically calling my name. The last words I heard in my mind before I blacked out were, "Come to Hyrule, Chosen One. We need you…"

**AN: Heh, I can't believe how much information I hinted at to my life in here. For example, I do have dark brown hair and my eyes like to change from a blue to a green depending on the light…seriously. **

**There was actually a Guiness book there, as well as fashion magazines and the book called, 'Lost Cities' I don't think that book had Atlantis in it though. **

**I also don't like reading fashion magazines and I do read Nintendo Power and EGM. **

**I was wearing those clothes that I described that day too, which was a few days ago. **

**I don't know if the little part about Atlantis is real facts or not, because it just came from the top of my head. So don't yell at me if it isn't right, I don't like reading about Atlantis. **

**I don't have a younger sister though, and my changed my brother's name. The ages may or may not be fictional… ;)**

**The room description was real aswell. The only thing that isn't true in this chapter about my life, are the names and a few other things. **

**Well, what are you waiting for? Review! .**


	2. My Arrival

**AN: This is the second part of 'Awakening' as I dubbed it. I wanted to get the part about her entering Hyrule over with…so I made this chapter in the same day. **

**Disclaimer: No. See first chapter.**

_**Chapter 2**_

I groaned when I opened my eyes. I expected to be on a hospital bed, but it felt like I was on grass.

What the hell? Grass?

I jumped up only to look around the place in wonder. I was currently by a spring, lying in a patch of grass that was too the side. I gasped in awe at the beauty of the place. It seemed somehow familiar though. The spring was fed by small waterfalls and the water trickled down from a stream. There were odd looking rocks by the stream, but I didn't really question that.

To my left, there was a wooden gate that was currently open and behind me there were flowers and a hole that looked like someone could crawl through it.

I cautiously reached down towards the water and put my hands in a cup shape. I wondered if the water was safe to drink, it looked really clean after all.

Oh, who cares. I was thirsty! They didn't have anything to drink in the dentist's office.

As soon as I put the water up to my lips, it was like I was in heaven. My energy seemed to come back all at once and I just sat there, relishing in the taste of the water.

Who knew that water could taste so good?

I was pushed out of my thoughts from an amused voice, "You know, there's other places to drink besides in the Ordon Spring…"

I looked towards the voice and I gasped slightly. A young man around the age of 19 was standing before me. He was muscular and his skin had a nice tan too it. Like he spent time on the beach to tan. He was wearing clothes that looked tattered and worn and he put on a lopsided grin when he spotted me staring at him.

I could feel my face heat up and I looked away, trying to hide my blush.

"Uh…I….um…" I was stuttering. I hated when I stuttered, it always made me feel weak and that I couldn't accomplish anything useful since I couldn't even speak properly.

The same male voice spoke up again, "Heh…I won't bite you or anything. I'm a normal Hylian. Speak…" I was almost horrified when he sat down beside me. He tried to get a look at my face, but I just looked away not wanting to blush again.

I finally found my voice and I answered rather hesitantly, "Um…I was thirsty" I suddenly remembered to introduce myself and I turned around to face him. The man seemed slightly concerned at my embarassement. "My name's Terra, what's yours?" I held out my hand in greeting. He took it and firmly shook my hand up and down, "The name's Link. Where do you hail from, Terra?"

I hesitated again, not knowing if Link knew where the United States of America was.

"Uhm…I'm uhh…not from around here…" I trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. Link sighed and said out of pity, "if you want, I can show you around Ordon. It's a village just a few minutes from here" He added, seeing my confused expression.

"Okay" I nodded and we both got up.

I followed Link slowly, looking at all the wildlife and beauty around me. This was like a dream, but except it was too real.

Link chuckled from ahead of me when he caught me looking up at the tall trees, gaping. "I see you haven't been here before, Terra. That's a nice name, by the way"

"Thanks…" I muttered, feeling my face heat up a little.

Link chuckled quietly to himself when we reached the village. There was a tree house to my right, and I tried to read the sign. I furrowed my eyebrows as I tried to read the sign, but it was written in a language that I didn't understand.

I felt Link staring at me and I continued to follow him. "You can't read?"

I shook my head no. Well, technically…I could read, but not this language.

"No, I can't read this language. This is all new for me…I live in a far away place"

"Ah, that was my house by the way"

I nodded in understanding as we walked through the village of Ordon. I couldn't help but smile at children whacking each other with sticks. Link introduced them to me and pointed to each of them respectively when he told me their names.

I nodded when I finally could ingrade the names and the faces into my brain. I followed Link to a house on the far end of the village.

Before I could open my mouth to ask what was beyond the village, he provided me with the answer. "There's a ranch full of goats back there. I work there. We aren't going there now though, I'll have to talk with the mayor about where to put you" he looked me over, which made me blush a little. The man continued, "You don't seem dangerous though. Excuse me while I have a chat with the mayor. Stay here, Terra"

"Okay, Link. Sure…" I watched as Link walked into the mayor's house.

A few minutes went by, and I started getting nervous. No one was approaching me, and they were all staring at me like I was some sort of freak.

Unexpectinly, Link emerges out of the house with a big, burly man that I guess was the mayor.

"Welcome to Ordon Village! I am the mayor of this humble place and I welcome you to stay here as often as you want!" he held out his hand and I took it, shaking it up and down.

I grinned, I knew I would like this guy. He continued, "Link has already told me your name, Terra. Nice name you have there…"

I laughed quietly as he continued to ramble. I noticed Link's eyes were on me, but I didn't say anything.

Link grinned at the mayor's rambling and interrupted him, "Sorry for interrupting, but Terra would probably want to know where she could stay…" he trailed off and looked me in the eyes, I blushed and turned away.

The mayor stopped and smiled down at me, "Oh! I'm sorry for rambling! I tend to do that a lot. About where you will be staying…you have two options. Three actually. You could stay with Iila, Link or you could sleep on the ground!" I laughed slightly at the last suggestion.

I thought about the choices. I didn't really want to be a burden to anyone, and Link seemed friendly enough.

"I'll stay with Link. If it's all right with him." I added quickly.

"Oh, that's fine." Link responded.

The mayor beamed, "okay! Now that that's settled, Link…would you show this lovely young lady around?"

Link smiled at me as he lead me towards the landmarks of Ordon. The first stop: the ranch full of goats.

---Time Lapse. 4 hours---

Finally, Link lead me back to his house. He went up the ladder first, and I followed.

He opened the door and I looked around the house.

It was simple enough, to say the least. There were two more floors above the main one all accessable by ladders. I noticed Link walking towards a basket while I was examining the room.

I was interrupted in my sight-seeing as Link threw something at me. I caught it with ease though and I grinned when it was an apple. Atleast they had familiar food here.

I took a bite out of the apple and smiled inwardly. It was the best tasting apple that I've ever had!

"Terra…we have a problem"

I looked towards Link who was blushing slightly. I cocked an eyebrow to encourage him to continue. He did, "There's only one bed…"

Oh. That would explain why he's blushing then.

"I can sleep on the floor if you want…" I trailed off when I saw Link's face.

"No, I'll sleep on the floor. You can sleep on my bed"

I shook my head, "No, I don't want too. It would feel weird sleeping in your bed."

"What?" Link teasingly asked me, "You scared of cooties?"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled, "Oh yeah. Cooties don't like me much. Still, this is your house…and you should get the bed"

"But, it's common cortusy for a lady to get the bed"

"I don't care. I'm not sleeping up there, and you can't make me"

I regretted the last part of my statement when Link grinned meschiviously.

"Oh, yes I can…"

I rolled my eyes again, "prove it"

"Oh…I will"

We stared at each other for a few moments with serious faces on. Link's serious stare slowly transformed into a lopsided grin and I smirked. I had a feeling we were getting off on the right foot. We both finished our apples and Link took my core…throwing it outside on the ground below.

"Still, you should get the bed, Terra"

Ugh. Does this guy ever give up? Apparently not.

"No! I insist! You get the bed! This is your house and-" I stopped when I realized I just repeated an point. Link smirked in triumpth when I reluctantly climbed up to his bunk.

"I win!" he exclaimed in victory. I only rolled my eyes as I settled down for the night. Link turned on a lantern and abrubtly asked, "How old are you? I'm 19"

Damn. He was one year older than me. "Oh er…I'm 18"

A pause and then, "Oh. Cool…"

"Hey Link?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for making me take this bed, it's actually quite comfortable. I still feel guilty though"

Link chuckled below, "Heh. No problem! Don't feel guilty, you don't need too! I'm used to sleeping outside anyways"

There was a short pause.

"Link?"

"Hmm?"

"Where exactly in the house are you right now?"

"…beside you"

I frantically looked around, moving around in the small bunkbed. Link must of noticed I was surprised because he snickered, "Ha! Just kidding. I set up a sleeping bag that I had. I'm down here"

"You had a sleeping bag and you didn't tell me? I love sleeping in sleeping bags!"

Another short pause.

"Oh well. Night, Terra" Link yawned.

I smirked slightly as I closed my eyes and shifted slightly, "G'night…"

**AN: ARGH! THE HORROR OF FLUFFINESS! XD**

**Heh, I thought this chapter came out pretty well. The chapters in this story will be roughly this length, FYI.**

**Read and Review! .**


	3. Ordonian Chores

**AN: This is obviously the third chapter of 'Awakening' But I didn't really need to tell you that. Just a forewarning though: I intend to make this a LinkOC thing…so turn back now if you don't like that 'ship'**

**Just enjoy though! The journey will start sooner than you think! **

**Disclaimer: No. Previous chapters. **

_**Chapter 3**_

Somebody repeatedly poking me in the ribs awaked me.

"Ugh. Go away…" I mumbled, turning over.

I heard a snicker from beside me but I paid it no heed. I liked my sleep.

"Terra! I got a slingshot!" I heard Link's excited voice by my ear.

Oh yeah. I was in Ordon with Link. I forgot about that.

I groaned and opened my eyes. Link was waving the slingshot around in my face excitedly and I rolled my eyes, "Wow Link. You really know how to wake a person up, don't you?"

Link huffed as he literally dragged me out of the bed. I laughed as he attempted to pull me down the ladder.

"Come on! I want to how you and the kids how to use it!" Link called after me.

I rolled my eyes again. Wow, he sounds excited.

I opened the door outside and was greeted with a blast of sunshine.

I covered my eyes from the unexpected light as I blindly made my way down the ladder to the ground.

When I got down, I turned around to a few squeals coming from the children. I rolled my eyes as I went up behind Link. He was doing target practice with the slingshot and I snickered when he missed on his third try. Link turned around and glared at me slightly, "Fine…you try it, Terra! If you're so smart…" Link mumbled the last part quietly and I snickered again, which earned me a playful smack to the back of the head.

I took the slingshot in my hands and took a seed that Link offered me. I eyed one of the targets and put the seed on the string. I pulled back the string and bit my lip. The string needed to be worn-in.

I brought the slingshot up to one of my eyes and aimed at a target. I held my breath to steady for the shot. I let go and watched as the seed ripped through the air towards the target. I smirked when the target exploded from the impact when I hit it dead center.

I gave the slingshot back to Link while he just gaped, "Holy shit! Nice shot, Ter!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Ter?"

He grinned, "Yeah."

I didn't really like that nickname, so I huffed jokily and punched his shoulder lightly.

"How'd you get to be a good shot?" Colin, a shy boy among the group, asked. I grinned down at him and shrugged, "I don't know. I have a good eye, I guess"

In truth, I really didn't know how and why I was so good. I never took any archery lessons back home, but I had a feeling I would be better with a bow.

Link and I took turns blowing up the targets and all too soon, the parents called the kids to come on in for lunch.

I grinned and wiped the sweat from my forehead. That was awesome!

I voiced my thoughts to Link and he just nodded in agreement.

"Hey Link," I started, not really knowing how to word the question. He looked at me, urging me to continue. "Um…are there any bows in this village? I think I would like to buy one…" I trailed off when I saw Link's slightly puzzled face.

"We have a blacksmith here by the name of Rusl, he might be able to help you. Let's go see. Follow me!" Link declared rather loudly and I giggled in response to his actions. For a 19 year old, he seemed a bit immature.

As we walked through the village, I noticed that the villagers were looking at me as if I lived here. Before they were looking at me like I was an outsider. I looked at my clothes and shook my head slightly. I needed new clothes if I wanted to fit in with this place.

I grinned when Link introduced me to Rusl. I knew right then, that he was a great guy.

"Now Terra, you said that you wanted a bow? May I ask why?" Rusl asked me.

I put a finger to my lip in thought, a habit of mine. "Well, I was practicing with Link's slingshot an hour or so ago…and I noticed I was really good. I would like to try out my skill with a bow"

Rusl bit his lip in thought, "Well…that sounds a bit suspicious…but Link assured me that you were a friend of his. A friend of his is a friend of mine. I do have a bow, but I'm afraid you'll have to pay. It's the only one in the village, you see"

I knew it. Nothing came free.

"How much?" I asked as I pulled out my wallet. I knew that I had at least 100 dollars in there.

"Hmm…I would normally charge 150 rupees. But since you're a friend of Link's…. 50 rupees"

I stopped in the middle of getting out a 50-dollar bill.

"What? Rupees?"

Rusl chuckled, "Yes, I was afraid that you wouldn't have our currency," he eyed mine. "What's that, paper? Is this some kind of joke?"

I seemed slightly taken aback at his sudden serious attitude, but I stood my ground and answered, "That's money where I come from. It's 50 dollars"

Both Rusl and Link seemed to nod in understanding. "Ah, I see. I doubt Link would want to pay for your bow…since he works hard enough around here" Rusl blinked before he smiled, "Do you know how to herd goats?"

I stared at him, "No…"

"Do you know how to cook?" Link asked me.

I thought back. If cooking meant opening a bag of chips or putting something in the microwave…then I guess I knew how to cook.

I shook my head again.

Rusl and Link stared at me in disbelieve and I blushed slightly from embarrassment, "What do you know how to do?"

I hesitated slightly before answering quietly, "I know how to fight…"

"What?" Rusl asked, lowering his voice as well.

"I know how to fight. Hand-to-hand."

Link blinked and asked, "What good will that do?" I shrugged, not knowing how to answer.

I frowned. Damn it! I couldn't get the bow…

"Link," Rusl started. Link turned to look at him. "I finished that wooden sword you asked for…" he sauntered over to the wall and pulled out a crudely made sword and handed it to Link. He grinned and swung it around a few times. "This is perfect, Rusl! Thanks!"

"Oh and Link, I would like to talk to you…in private"

That meant I had to leave. I sulkily left the room and waited outside. I was tempted to easthdrop, but I didn't.

---

"Link," Rusl started. "I noticed you are…taking a liking to Terra. Any idea why?"

Link frowned, "Well, she's pretty for one. She seems to have a bright personality. She's also really good at the slingshot! She got three targets this morning while I could only get one" Link made a face. "I think I should pay for the bow. She'd really like that."

Rusl blinked and a smile slowly crept on to his lips, "You know lad, I'll give it too you for free. You could tell her that you paid 50 rupees for it though, I'm sure he would appreciate it"

Link nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Here are the rupees. Do you have any arrows left?"

"Yes. I have lots of arrows. I'll even throw in a quiver for free" Rusl grabbed the purple rupee that Link put on the counter and gave Link a wooden bow along with a quiver of 100 arrows.

"There should be 100 arrows in there, Link. Thanks for the business!"

Link grinned at the blacksmith, "No problem! Thanks!"

---

I watched as Link exited Rusl's house with a smirk on his face. There in his hand, was a smooth wooden bow and a quiver that looked like it had a lot of arrows.

I could of squealed, but I didn't want to scare him or the people around us, so I just beamed up at him and took the bow from his hands.

"Thanks, Link! How much did you pay for this thing"?

"Oh, fifty rupees…" he trailed off.

"Come on! Let's test this baby out!" I laughed as I raced Link towards his house, where we would set up targets.

I was panting by the time we reached the target area. I had just beat Link by a second, but I had a feeling he let me win. He was barely panting after all.

"Link!" Beth squealed when she saw him approach. "Show us your sword moves!"

Link slashed at the scarecrow a couple of times, which caused the children to squeal in delight.

Beth beamed up at Link and excitedly said, "Hey Link! Show how you flex your well defined muscles and stab!"

I rolled my eyes; Beth obviously had a little crush on Link.

Link smirked as he did as he was told. He stabbed the scarecrow roughly and the children gasped in wonder. I had a slight feeling that he was trying to impress me.

Beth squealed yet again, "Ooh, Link! Just amazing! Since you're at it, how about you show us that other move. Y'know, that little twirly thing you do! I love that! What do you call it? A spin attack?"

"Yeah…" Link mumbled to himself and I rolled my eyes. "Stand back…"

Link brought the wooden sword behind him and crouched down. He grunted, probably because it was hard holding that position. Once everybody was out of the way, he spun around in a circle, and cut the scarecrow in half!

I gaped, that was awesome!

Beth seemed to look at Link with admiration, "Ooh, Wow! Thanks, Link!

I'm sorry you have to waste your time with these little brats when you must be

tired from doing all the important stuff you do!"

Link rolled his eyes and turned around to look at me, I was still gaping. He was good!

Link smirked when he saw my amazed face and was about to leave when Talo pulled on his shirt and whined, "Hey, wait! You've gotta show us the jump attack before you go! You know, the one where you go "HYAAH!" and leap through the air!"

Rusl chuckled from behind me and I flinched when I didn't notice him approach. "Calm down, children! Calm down! Just let me set up another target for the lad!" He grunted as he walked past me with a scarecrow target in hand. He put a pumpkin on it and whispered in Link's ear. I could barely hear what was said, "Go for it. Remember what I taught you"

Link nodded ever so slightly and Rusl stood beside me, smiling in pride.

I watched in awe as Link yelled and jumped in the air with his sword raised. He brought the sword down with so much force; it spit the scarecrow easily in two!

I gaped, that was awesome too! The children squealed again in excitement and all of the exclaimed, "That was awesome!" They turned to me, "Tessa, or whatever you name is! Show us your bow!"

I rolled my eyes and chuckled when they got my name wrong. Link sauntered past me with a smug look on his face while Rusl set up the targets.

While I was waiting, I reached out and grabbed an arrow from the quiver. I pulled back the string and grinned when it was really tight. That's what you need.

"All done! Show us what you can do, Terra!" Rusl called as he jogged away from the targets. I noticed that the crowd behind me came became larger as more people from the village came to watch.

I was already sweating; I wasn't good at performing in front of a lot of people.

I shook my head and concentrated. I bit my lip and pulled back on the string after I put the arrow into place.

I shut one eye and aimed at the closest target. Easy. I smirked and let go and I watched smugly as the arrow hit dead center. I heard a few gasps behind me and I grinned. This was awesome!

I did the same for the other targets, slowly increasing in speed. I was on the last target by now, and it was the farthest away. My hands were sweating heavily and I could feel the hot sweat dripping off of my forehead. It didn't look hard, but this really took a lot out of you!

I wiped the sweat from my hands and took a deep breath. So far, I hit every single target with one shot. I planned to do the same with this one.

I bit my lip as I once again nocked an arrow. I aimed towards the target, which was across the village. I held my breath as I steadied my bow and fired.

The arrow flew straight and true. It hit the ring surrounding the bull's eye. Damn it.

I tried again, and this time it went slightly below the centre. I was starting to get frustrated. Third time's the charm, anyway.

I tried again, this time narrowing my eyes to help me see farther. I didn't know how that worked, and I wanted to find how. After a minute of adjusting, I fired and was satisfied when the arrow barely hit the centre and shattered the target with crack.

I grinned when I turned back to the gaping audience. I bowed deeply and sat down to rest, the sweat pouring freely down my face.

"That was awesome, Terra!" Beth beamed at me. I smiled back at her and panted. Whew, hard work…

"Yeah! Teach us how to do that!" Talo demanded.

I heard Malo mutter something, but I didn't hear because Rusl was currently laughing. "That really was awesome, Terra! The last person I knew could hit a shot like that was the Hero of Time himself!" I cocked an eyebrow, who the hell was that?

No one noticed my questioning glance though, as they all slowly shuffled back to their homes.

It was now dusk and I shivered slightly from the sudden cold.

"Wow. Just wow…I never knew you had it in ya, Ter!" Link exclaimed from behind me.

I grinned and gave him a high five and he laughed.

"I didn't know either!"

My stomach suddenly rumbled and I felt my face grow hot from embarrassment. Link must have noticed because he pat me on the back and lead me towards his house.

"What do you want to eat?" Link asked me, once we entered his house. I sat down on the table, exhausted.

"I don't know, nor do I care. Just make something! I'm starving!"

Link chuckled as he took out something round and set it in front of me. Was that pumpkin pie?

Link laughed when he saw my face, "That's pumpkin pie. Ordon's finest. You said you didn't care, so eat up! I might as well eat too!" He handed a dish to me and I gave him my thanks before greedily grabbing a piece with my hands. I realized that they didn't have silverware here, but I didn't mind.

Link watched me as I took a bite of the pie. I grinned, "Link! This is so good!"

Link blushed slightly, "Thanks, I made it myself."

We ate in silence, with only the sounds of eating disturbing the peaceful quiet.

"Terra…" Link calmly started when we were done eating. We were in the basement right now, and we were sitting on a plush couch. I mentally noted that it was a loveseat, but I didn't say anything on the manner. "I'm going to Hyrule the day after tomorrow, and I'd like you to come with me. I need to deliver a sword to the castle representing Ordon"

I looked at him and grinned, "Of course I'll come! What time are you leaving?"

"Around 6:00am"

"Oh. Damn it. I'm not a morning person"

Link chuckled at me, "I noticed this morning!"

I playfully punched him in the shoulder and he flicked my arm in response.

I yawned randomly. "Tired?" Link asked with amusement.

I smiled slightly, "Nope. I'm totally awake and ready for the day…" I muttered sarcastically and Link snickered.

I felt my eyes get heavy and I tried to keep them open. Link smirked, "It looks like you're tired to me."

"Yeah well…" I trailed off before mentioning; "I don't think I can make it up the ladder. I might have to sleep down here…"

Link smiled at me lopsided and said, "I don't think I can make it up there either…so we both have to sleep down here. In the dark…" I rolled my eyes, but I felt my face heat up slightly. What was up with me?

I noticed just now that Link casually put an arm around my shoulders.

I blushed slightly, but Link didn't seem to notice. I felt his eyes staring at me, and I made it look like I was sleeping. I even added in a few fake snores!

I heard Link sigh quietly as he shuffled around. He placed a few pillows behind my head and I heard him climb the ladder quietly. I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my lips.

I muttered something incoherent before I lost myself to the world of dreams.


	4. Lost and Found

**AN: My reviewers are awesome! .**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed so far! I'm excited to continue on this story thus, why I wrote another chapter so soon!**

**To those who read F.F.F: I will finish the story, as there are only a few chapters left. It is on hold though, as I currently have writer's block for it.**

**To those who read 'Skirmish': I'm having a hard time writing the next chapter, so I sort quit a quarter of the way through. Have no fear though! I will update soon enough.**

**Disclaimer: No. Previous chapters.**

_**Chapter 4**_

"Terra! Hurry up and wake up! The children have gone missing!" Link yelled from above.

I groaned as I slowly got up from the couch. I stretched my aching limbs and concluded that I would never sleep on that couch again.

I put on my bow and quiver and I climbed the ladder tiredly.

I realized that Link must have been waiting for me outside, so I opened the door.

I gasped quietly at the sight of the horse. I didn't know Link had a horse…

The horse was chestnut brown and she had a white mane-

"Terra! Hurry up! Get on Epona! The children are in danger!" cried Link.

I rolled my eyes as I sat behind Link on the saddle.

"Hold on to something!"

Link spurred Epona on after the children who were apparently, in danger. I grabbed onto Link's waist in slight fear. I never really liked horses…

The horse, Epona, continued to gallop through the forest path. She slowly came to a stop though, and I slowly opened my eyes.

Wait- my eyes were closed?

I felt Link dismount and I straighten up, "Need a help down, Ter?"

I glared at him for using that nickname on me, but held out my hand. Link helped me get off of Epona and we walked through the tall grass.

I hope there aren't any snakes in the grass…

I heard a surprised voice in front of me that made me jump, "Whoa! Ordonians! Hey, guys! Listen, I'm not sure you should be wandering around the woods without a lantern. Just because it's daylight doesn't mean it's safe. There are a ton of caves and dank spots around here that get pretty dark even in the middle of the day.

Here! Go on, guy. Take this!"

I glared at the man that made me jump. He was wearing hippy clothes and he had an Afro. The man didn't really seem to pay attention to me though, because he handed the lantern to Link who attached it to his belt on his hip.

"See, I sell lantern oil here." Afro continued, "I'm trying to drum up sales by giving away free lanterns! It's a business tactic, guy! See, as long as you've got oil to fuel your lantern, you can light your way and set fire to stuff. They're the best!"

I rolled my eyes at the man. This guy was whacked. "My name's Coro, by the way! Oh, who's this?" Coro pointed at me.

Link, who stifled a laugh at my expense, gestured to me and said, "Oh. This is Terra, she's new here"

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Terra!"

I rolled my eyes before muttering, "Yeah. Likewise"

"Come on, Terra…we got to go" Link said, amusement.

Good. I didn't like that Coro dude. I still wanted to call him Afro.

We walked quickly away from Coro and Link took a left, I rolled my eyes and followed.

Link yelped and was jumped by a blue flower. "Oh, it's just a Deku Baba…" he muttered.

I stared at the creature. Just a deku baba? It was like a giant Venus Fly Trap with bigger teeth. It was drooling green stuff. Gross.

With a quick slash or two of Link's sword, the Deku Baba shriveled up.

"Continuing on…" I muttered and lead the way through the cave.

Link put a hand on my shoulder and I flinched, "Maybe I should go first. I've got a lantern and it's dark in there. What if something jumps you?"

"Hmm…good point. Lead on, Link" I motioned for Link to lead and he just rolled his eyes.

I fell into step with him.

I took the bow off of my back and knocked an arrow. I had a feeling I would need it.

---Time Lapse. 10 Minutes---

We finally exited the cave. I glared at Link who didn't even break a sweat. What's this guy made of? Steel?

Shaking off my thoughts, I spotted a weird purple creature with a wooden mace.

"It's a bublikin. This is your kill." Link informed from behind me.

I was more than happy to kill the ugly purple thing. The arrow struck the monster in the head and it vanished in a puff of black smoke. There was a rupee in its place. A blue rupee.

I ran up to it and snatched it up from the ground. I grinned in triumph. "Who's got a rupee? I've got a rupee! Rupee, Rupee, hey hey hey!" I did the 'rupee' dance.

Link just stared at me and pointed towards the blue money, "That's worth 5"

I put it in my wallet and to my surprise, the rupee shrunk to fit a compartment in my wallet.

We continued through the forest, killing purple monsters and bats that were called Keese. I got most of the kills; I think Link let me kill most of them. It's not like I needed practice or anything…

After getting a key and killing some more Deku Baba and Bublikins, we opened the gate to the east and sauntered in.

There were three purple monsters in the clearing, and I motioned for Link to take care of them. He nodded and ran towards the monster that had now noticed him. I rolled my eyes. Way to be stealthy, Link.

Link slashed at the first monster, beheading in instantly. He twirled around on the spot and stabbed another one. My eyes went wide as the third one was about to club him on the head. I couldn't reach my bow in time, so I watched as Link did a 'spin attack' successfully slicing the last monster in two almost-equal pieces. I made I face as I walked up to him. That was gross. But cool too.

Link flashed me a lopsided grin as he let me lead finally. I rolled my eyes at him and walked ahead.

When I came to the next clearing, I heard a shrill voice that scared me half to death.

"GRRRARRR! FWEEEEEEEEEEET! Hey! Punish the evildoers! Huh? Hey! The evildoers are all gone? Wait, are you...costumers? Oh! Hey! Sorry! So sorry! Please forgive me!" I held my ears as the colourful talking bird kept on jabbing on and on,

"Welcome! Hey! Buy something! Anything!"

Link smirked as he approached the bird. I frowned when I noticed he was limping slightly, when did he get that wound? He must have gotten it and not told me.

"Link," I spoke up. "Why are you limping? I just noticed it now"

He turned around and gave me a sheepish smile; "I got hit by a club about half an hour ago, when I was fighting a Bublikin. You were busy shooting another one, so I didn't want to bother you. Or worry you" he added as an afterthought.

"But don't worry, there's red potion here that we can buy. I bought a few bottles before I left, so we can buy plenty of red potions. That stuff works wonders for injuries" Link added quickly, seeing the confusion on my face.

"Oh" I muttered.

I watched in slight boredom as Link bought enough red potions for two bottles. He also bought a bottle of lantern oil. He paid the talking parrot and walked towards me with a goofy grin on his face.

I blushed slightly and followed him up the path towards a tall tree like structure.

What was with that look that made me blush all the time?

A scream interrupted my thoughts and I recognized it as Talo's. Link growled as he viciously slashed, twirled and whipped around like a tornado on speed at the enemies guarding the cage. I only had a chance to shoot one arrow at an enemy before he defeated all of them.

Link commanded, "Talo, duck and keep your head low. I am going to let you free"

Link crouched down and but his sword behind him. In one smooth motion, he swung the sword around feriously and cut the top half of the cave off.

---Time Lapse. One Hour---

It was still deathly silent. There was silence for the whole way to Ordon and I could tell that Link was upset.

As we approached the village, Rusl saw Talo and rushed towards him.

The blacksmith turned towards Link with a huge grin on his face and said, "Link!

My son told me Talo disappeared into the woods and had not returned. I came as soon as I heard. But it looks like you have brought him home already. I apologize. Such a task should not fall to you. Tell me, have you noticed how strange this wood seems lately? I feel... uneasy about what may lie in wait" There was a short pause before Rusl continued, "Anyway, Link...tomorrow is finally the day. You will be departing for Hyrule.

I think it is a good thing I have given this task to you. Good luck! And return safely! If you are lucky, you may even get to meet Princess Zelda! Ah ha ha!" Link blushed slightly at the mention of a princess and I scoffed quietly. Link didn't notice.

I glared at Rusl's retreating figure; he spoke like I wasn't there.

Link turned to me and sadly said, "Ter, go in my house and wait there for a bit. I have to held Fado herd the goats again" I nodded in understanding and went up the ladder to Link's house. I opened the door and climbed down the ladder to the basement. I plopped down on the couch as I rested, waiting for Link to come back.

---Time Lapse. Two Hours---

I didn't know how long I waited, nor did I care. I heard a few footsteps above and I climbed the ladder. I saw Link's tired face and smirked slightly to myself.

Link looked up at me and raised an eyebrow, "You're clothes look dirty. You should give them to me to wash tonight. Oh, and you need something to wear to bed…" he paused, and chuckled at seeing my annoyed expression. "I'm sure Ilia would lend you a nightgown or two."

---Time Lapse. Fifteen minutes---

It took awhile, but I finally found Iila's house. I didn't know she was the Mayor Bo's daughter…

Ilia spoke in a quiet voice, "Link sent you to get a nightgown from me, didn't he?"

I nodded to confirm her suspicions.

She sighed as she pulled out a nightgown. My heart started beating wildly at the appearance of the gown. It had a low V-cut, and I defiantly wouldn't be comfortable with Link gazing at me all night.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "It's the only extra one"

"Oh, okay…" I trailed off. "Hey, Ilia…Link said that he wanted to wash my clothes cause they were dirty. I agree with him that they're dirty, but I don't feel comfortable with a guy washing my clothes" I blushed slightly at the thought of Link 'washing' my undergarments.

"Oh," she smirked, "he must like you then. He says that to me all the time. I can wash them now if you would like"

I beamed, "Yeah! That would be awesome! Thanks!"

I stripped of my clothes, seeing that we were both girls in here. Unless if Ilia wasn't telling me something…

I put on the skimpy nightgown and watched in amazement as Ilia immediately began scrubbing my clothes clean from the dirt, grim and dust.

15 minutes later found me walking towards Link's house. I was dressed in that skimpy nightgown and groaned. Ugh…

When I stepped into the tree house of Link's he was currently eating pumpkin pie. When he saw me, he dropped his fork and his gaze wandered over to my chest. I huffed and crossed my arms and his gaze went up to my face. He must have noticed I was blushing feriously, for he smirked slightly. "Where did you get that?"

"Ilia" was my answer.

There was an awkward pause as I slowly made my way towards the table. Link's gaze, as I predicted, was still plastered on me.

"Link, my face is up here" I glared as I caught him looking at my chest region. He blushed and cleared his throat, and looked away from me.

I reached for a piece of pie and ate it quickly, I was tired.

I tiredly climbed up to Link's bed, assuming he would let me sleep in there again.

Link's amused voice came from below as I literally fell face first into his fluffy pillow. "Tired?"

"Yes, very much so…"

"Okay well, I'm going to bed too so…good night, Terra. Oh, remember that we're heading off to Hyrule tommorow."

I rolled over, and settled in for the night. "I know…Night, Link"

**AN: More fluffiness! But there's also action too, so hopefully they will cancel each other out! XD**

**I can't wait to write the next chapter! So expect it up tomorrow or something…**

**Read and Review! .**


	5. Feral Instincts

**AN: Here's the next chapter….**

**But you already knew that! XD**

**For anyone who hasn't noticed, this story will be more serious than The Legend of the Rebel. Why? Because, I've noticed that Melissa has struck some people as being a bi. You know what that starred word is…XD**

**This doesn't mean that I will stop 'Rebel' I will finish it; I'll give you that. I will update until chapter 14, and then I will have a break…as I currently have writer's block for it. I am about half-way through chapter 15...  
**

**Disclaimer: No. Previous chapters. I do however own Terra's coyote form…**

**Quick thanks again goes to Peach the Hedgehog for helping me decide what animal to use for Terra's twilight form thing…XD**

_**Chapter 5**_

"Terra…come on1 Wake up! It's time to leave for Hyrule!" Link's excited voice came from beside me. I groaned and rolled over, ignoring the hyper 19-year-old man beside me.

Wait, What? I snapped my eyes open to see a smirking Link. He was lying beside me in the tiny bunk and I felt my face heat up.

"I knew doing this would wake you up. Come on! We'll have a quick breakfast, and then it's time to leave!"

I rolled my eyes before following him out of the small one-person bed.

Our breakfast was simple really; just milk gotten from Hyrule Castle Town and bread.

After we were done eating, I told Link to leave…for it was time for me to change. He blushed slightly but left the tree house. I changed into my 'Earth' clothes and then followed the giddy Link outside and down the ladder to the ground. Tending to the chestnut brown mare, Epona, was Ilia

She smiled when she noticed our presence, "Hello, Link and Terra!" He both smiled and nodded.

Ilia turned towards Epona and spoke in a soothing voice, "The path before you is long, my sweet horse...but please bear Link safely along

It" Her eyes were drawn to a small cut on Epona's knee. She raised an eyebrow and crouched down to get a better look, "Wait... What's this?" Ilia turned back to Link and glared at him while he took a step back. I chuckled inwardly, there's nothing like a woman's scorn…that's for sure. "What's happened? She's injured, isn't she?" Link nodded up and down unsurely and I could have slapped my hand to my forehead. " Link? How could you! You were pushing Epona too hard again! I bet you hurt her leg jumping fences, didn't you!" Ilia demanded.

I held back the snicker that was trying to reveal itself to the world when Link didn't even get a chance to speak during her ranting.

Ilia looked down at Epona with an apologetic look, "You poor thing. It'll be all right, Epona. I'll take you to the forest spring right now. Once we soothe you in the spirit's spring, you'll feel better in no time!"

To Link's horror, Ilia took Epona by the reins and started to walk her to the Ordon Spring.

Once she was out of sight, I burst out laughing. "That- That was- hilarious!" Link glared at me and my wild laughter turned into a quiet snicker, "The look on your face was priceless! You should have seen it!"

Link scoffed and hit me playfully on the back of the head, I grinned.

"Come on, let's follow her. I need Epona back if I'm to deliver that sword as a gift to the Princess" Link muttered and started to walk towards the spring. I rolled my eyes and followed him.

When we arrived at the spring, my face lit up when I recognized the place. This was when I first woke up here! Link must have noticed the recognition flash across my eyes for he smiled slightly.

I noticed Link didn't have his sword anymore, and I snickered. "Hey, Link…what happened to your sword?"

Link scowled before responding, "Oh that. The kid made me give it to them before I woke you up…" he trailed off and I rolled my eyes.

We noticed Colin standing by the currently locked gate and approached him. I noticed Ilia glaring at Link feriously and I suppressed another snicker. At least I still had my wooden bow and arrows…

"Ilia, you don't know what happened yesterday." Colin tried to explain to Ilia, but she was clearly ignoring him. The boy turned back to Link, " Listen, I don't know if she'll listen to me, but let me try to explain about Talo and the monkey, OK? You crawl in here through the tunnel in back while I try to convince her, Link and Terra"

I grinned when he noticed I was here and Link turned back to me with a playful scowl. I rolled my eyes and took note that this must of happened almost all the time.

Link said to me, "Come on, Ter. I know that tunnel that he's talking about…" he motioned with his hands to follow him and I obeyed.

When we reached the tunnel, there was a slight problem of figuring out who goes first.

"Ter! You should go in first, cause ladies always go first!" I rolled my eyes at the pathetic excuse.

"Well, I think you should go first because it's your horse…and I don't want to be yelled at by Ilia…" I trailed off when I saw the defeated look on Link's face.

"Fine, I'll go first…"

Yay. Victory!

When we finished crawling through the tunnel, Link got out first obviously, so he helped me up with his hand. I smiled at him and pushed him towards Ilia. I heard a faint whimper come from him.

Colin was currently explaining what happened yesterday to Ilia. She was nodding in understanding. I rolled my eyes.

When the explanation was done, Ilia slowly turned around towards Link and said softly, "I had no idea. I hadn't heard the details about Talo's capture."

Epona snorted and took a few steps towards Link, which Ilia frowned at .

"So you still prefer your master over me, huh, Epona?" She turned to look at Link, "Don't worry about your horse, Link. Fortunately, it looks like the injury isn't too serious. You three can go on together. But-" Ilia was cut off by the sound of thundering hooves dangerously close.

I tensed; I didn't like the sound the hooves were making. Link motioned me to come behind him. I did and then I took out my bow. A huge blue boar-like creature with a green ogre on top of it rammed through the gate. Ilia screamed and Link stood protectively behind us both. I was frozen in fear, I couldn't move. I tried with every inch of will to get me to move, but I knew that my efforts were in vain.

Another ogre on a brown boar appeared and so did another one. I gritted my teeth and I started to panic slightly. One of the creatures- the one that looked like the leader- hit Ilia on the head with a club and scooped her up. She was unconscious. There wasn't any time to move, anytime to think. I remembered a pain on the back of my head, and then everything went black.

I remembered waking up, sprawled all over Link. I didn't know why I was all over him, but I was thankful he was still unconscious, for I would never live this down. I couldn't move anyways, it hurt to move. I felt Link stir from underneath me and he groaned loudly. I raised an eyebrow, but realized that the same thing was happening to me. I held my head in my hands and I felt my organs and bones rearrange themselves. I screamed, only to notice that Link screamed too. That was the last thing I heard before I black out again.

I awoke in a dark and damp jail cell, and I knew instantly that something was horribly wrong. Link was lying on the floor and I gasped when I saw his appearance. He had somehow turned into a wolf. The wolf's coat markings weren't the usual ones though. Almost all of him was a dark green besides this white swirl that went down his side. He had white paws, and I noticed a weird symbol on his forehead. Link's muzzle was white and his nose was wet- like a dog's. I snickered, but my eyes widened in horror at the growl that came out of my throat. I was one too?

Link awoke at this point and noticed my appearance first before looking down at himself.

I knew that I was smaller than Link, and when I looked down at my body…I knew I wasn't a wolf. For one thing, my feet were smaller in proportion to the rest of my body…and I felt this odd fear in my chest at Link. I didn't know why, but I knew right then and there I was a coyote. How did I know? The thought just came to me.

I whimpered when I saw two cuffs wrapped around one of our paws for each animal. "Where are we?" I asked quietly. "What happened?"

Link, the wolf, seemed to shrug and answered, "I don't know what happened, but I'll tell you right now that it isn't good"

I shrunk back slightly at his commanding tone, and I felt that fear make a knot in my throat. I couldn't speak.

Link noticed my sudden fear of him and softly barked at me, "Ter…what's up? It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you…"

He gave me an once-over from where he was and I felt my skin grow warm underneath his gaze. Wait- first I was scared of him and now I'm blushing?

What's happening?

"You look funny," Link started, sounding amused. "You look at least half of me. Your fur is a light brown on your body. You're throat and belly seem white and your forelegs, sides of your head, muzzle and paws are a reddish-brown"

I stared at him. At least I knew what I looked like now, though.

I explain to Link what he looked like, and he just nodded his head.

I felt the male wolf's blue eyes on me again and I felt my skin heat up yet again.

"You're ears are big, and your feet are smaller…why?" Link asked his companion, trying not to laugh at the sight of the funny proportions.

"I'm a coyote…" I muttered, while turning my gaze to the dark grey floor.

"So?" Link huffed.

"So…that's how a coyote's body works…"

"Oh"

"Yeah…"

"Hey, Ter…why do you seem…frightened of me?"

There was a short pause and I sighed shakily before responding, "I don't know…"

"Whatever the reason, know that I would never hurt you…Ter" Link whispered tenderly, nudging my side with his snout.

"Yeah…I know" I blushed underneath my fur, but Link once again didn't notice.

---Time Lapse. Four Hours and 15 Minutes---

A lot happened to us in the past four hours. We met Midna, a weird looking imp creature that helped us escape from the castle and we met up with Princess Zelda. She told us why we were here and what happened. We learned that we were currently in Twilight and the only way for us to get out is by help from another creature of Twilight.

We also found out that Zant, a funny looking guy with a cool mask, is behind all of this. He is trying to drown Hyrule in Twilight, and it is up to us to stop him.

When Midna brought us back to Hyrule, we had to get a sword and shield for Link. As for my bow, I noticed that it was already on my back along with my quiver full of arrows.

We prowled through the village, and after an hour of searching and avoiding that annoying hawk…we finally found both the sword and the shield!

The shield was wooden though. Oh well, at least it was better than nothing.

Link and I were now trotting through the forest. We are about to go across the bridge, but a voice calls out to us, "Wait...Come...to my spring...You have...been transformed...by the power...of shadow...Come...to me..." I pawed the ground nervously and growled deep in my throat. Link assured me that I had nothing to worry about though, and he would protect me. I figured it was safe, since the voice sounded weak…like it was dying. Link and I sauntered over to the spring and the voice spoke again, "Beware...A shadow being...it approaches..."

I looked up, crouched into an attacking position and growling at the sky. Link did the same thing. A black…thing fell down from the sky. I didn't really pay attention to what it looked like; I just wanted to get away! I whimpered and put my tail in between my legs and slowly backed away.

Link noticed my fear and growled feriously at the shadow beast. The shadow being raised its black claws to strike down Link, but the wolf dodged to the side and pounced, sinking his teeth into the flesh of the monster.

I yelped, cheering him on. It wasn't long until the shadow beast was defeated. It burst into little black squares that went back into the sky.

Once the shadow being was defeated, someone really cool happened to the spring. The rocks seemed to light up in the pattern that I noticed when I first came here, and I huddled close to Link for protection…even though I somehow feared him.

A golden ball of light materialized in the spring in front of us, and a golden light Ordon goat materialized right after. I started at it as it started speaking, "O brave youths...

I am one of four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona. The black beast you slayed was a shadow being. It had come to seize the power of light I wield." I flicked my ears forward and moved away from Link slightly. I didn't feel afraid anymore.

Ordona continued, "My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness. The blight will not stop with Hyrule. Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the king who rules the twilight. To save this land from the king of twilight, the lost light must be recovered. The three light spirits who have lost their light must be revived. There is but two who can revive them and redeem this land" Ordona, the light spirit, paused for a heartbeat to let this soak in.

The Light Sprit looked at both of us and seemed to smile, "You two. You still have not discovered your true power. Those transformed by twilight usually cannot recover their original forms." Both Link and I whimpered at this new revelation. "Unless... If you were to return Faron Woods where you were first transformed. If you were to revive the light spirit...There, by the power of the light spirit, you may find the means to regain your other state of being..."

I blinked at the Light Spirit as it started to vanish. That made sense…

**AN: Yay for script walkthrough on Gamefaqs! Without that, I would be lost! I would have to write everything down from the game! Oh woe is me! XD**

**There's nothing much to say except…**

**Review:3**


	6. Twilight Gathering

**AN: There's nothing to say, so I'll just cut to the chase!**

**Disclaimer: Previous chapters.**

_**Chapter 6**_

Link growled at Midna when she plopped herself on his back again. I held back a snicker; at least I wasn't being used as a ride…

We just got pulled into the Twilight again, courtesy of Midna, and now we were trying to find this other Light Spirit that Ordona spoke of.

Unexpectedly, five twilight pillars surrounded us and we were penned in again. Instead of only one black Twilight monster, three dropped from the sky! I whimpered, and hid behind Link. The male wolf growled furiously at the beasts that were slowly approaching.

With a jolt from his back legs, Link pounced on one of the creatures and started to gnaw its body and sinking his fangs into the flesh of the beast.

I followed his example with another black beast that was about to strike me down. Link just finished killing his beast at this point and snarled at mine briefly before charging the last one.

With a snap of its neck, the monster I was fighting went down in a crumpled heap.

The third and last Twilight Messenger reared its head up and emitted an ear-piercing shriek. To both Link's surprise, and mine the other two twilight beings got up slowly as if nothing had happened. I heard Midna giggle from outside of the barrier.

"What's the holdup? If you leave the last one alive, it's just going to use that shriek to bring the others back. Listen, let me help you two out here! Just move like I tell you! Let me get on one of your backs, preferably the wolf's, and I'll explain more!" Midna snickered and hopped on Link's back again, and he almost bucked under the impact.

The twilight imp grinned and a fang showed, "That's a good doggy! You humans defiantly at obedient to a fault! Now, I want you to concentrate on surrounding the Twilight Messengers in an energy field. When all of them are in range, you just let the thought go and your body will automatically attack the three beasts in succession" she paused, "I know that sounds dumb, but it will work…with the aid of me that is!"

At this point, the three angry shadow beasts are slowly reaching us. We moved around the area, avoiding and dodging attacks while the imp was explaining to us what to do.

Link did as he was told, and to my surprise, a black energy field went around him. He went in the middle of the beasts and just when they were about to claw him to death, Link attacked all three of them and killed them in just a few seconds! I gaped as Link turned to look at me, probably trying to see what I thought of this.

I rolled my eyes and walked the best I could towards another spring and Link followed close behind.

I didn't tell Link yet, but I knew I would have to tell him at some point. I was hit badly by a twilight bat in the front right leg and I walked the best I could without limping.

When we reached the spring, I watched in fascination as the wound healed in front of my eyes until fur took its place. I gaped yet again.

I turned towards the waterfall and I heard another weak voice, "...Please...be careful... These woods...have changed...The dark clouds of dusk cover this land... This drape of shadows is called...twilight. In this twilight, those who lived in the light...become as mere spirits...it is a place...where the dark ones and evil creatures dwell...I...am a spirit...of light...Blue-eyed beast and his companion. Look...for my light... Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts...and keep it...in this vessel" There was a bright light and I had to cover my eyes with one of my legs to make sure I didn't go blind. When I opened my eyes, Link chuckled and looked at my neck. I looked down and saw that this weird…thing, had attached itself to my neck in the form of a collar! I shook my head, trying to get this thing off.

The Light Spirit spoke again, "Chosen One, do not…try to…shake it off. That is…the Light Vessel, you…will…need it when…you defeat…the dark insects…" The Spirit paused and continued, "In the shadows of twilight...the dark insects are as...invisible...as normal beings are here...Let me use the last of my power...to reveal the locations of the dark insects...that consumed the light...Find...the insects of darkness...The dark insects... They are the form taken by evil...once it has latched on to...our scattered light..." the Spirit seemed to take a long and slow breath before starting up again, "Please...look in the places that bug would normally be and recover the Tears of Light from these...insects of darkness..."

Well, that was interesting…wasn't it?

---Time Lapse. Three Hours Later---

Link growled as he pounced on the last bug. The Light Vessel collar around my neck started to glow and shine so much that I had to close my eyes from the blinding light.

I heard a ringing in my ears and then…silence.

I opened my eyes to see two things. For one, both Link and I were back in our human forms. For two, the Vessel of Light went off my neck towards the spring, where the glowing increased…if that was even possible.

Midna frowned, "Aww, but it was so nice here in the twilight... What's so great about a world of light, anyway?" The imp smirked and waved, "Eee hee hee! See you later!" She disappeared…

As if on cue, a white and golden ball of light materialized out of thin air.

I gasped quietly as another Light Spirit formed from the ball of light. It looked like a big monkey with a scorpion tail!

The second Light Spirit spoke, "My name is Faron. I am one of the spirits of light who dwell in Hyrule. I use the life force of the gods to protect this forest" A pause, "O brave youths...In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you young heroes were transformed into your inner forms. That was a sign, Link" The spirit turned towards Link now, " It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you...and that they are awakening. Look at your awakened form..." Link looked down and gasped. But when I looked at him, I had to stifle my laughter. What was with that hat? Faron continued, "The green tunic that is your garb once belonged to the ancient hero chosen by

the gods. His power is yours. His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link. You are the hero chosen by the gods"

The spirit, Faron, paused to let this soak in. "Brave Link...A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits of light locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light. But this world weeps beneath a mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice. You must match the power of the king of shadows.

If you would seek this forbidden power, then proceed to the temple in the forest depths"

Faron looked at me this time and said, "Terra, the Chosen One. Look at your clothes…" I did and my eye twitched slighty. I was wearing a tunic like Link's but except it was black and it didn't have that hat! Go me! I also noticed that the tunic was a low v-neck, but it had a red tee shirt underneath. I blushed slightly in embarrassment.

Faron stared at me before continuing, "Terra. You must aid Link in his quest for justice and peace. You must stay with him, for he will protect you at all costs. He must, or else all of Hyrule will fall" I blinked and stared at the Faron. I'm not that important…

Faron seemed to smile and finished off with, "You will understand in time, Chosen One"

Link and I watched in fascination as the spirit vanished as if it wasn't there. I noticed a weight on my shoulders, but then I remembered that I had my bow and quiver.

I looked at Link, and he had this determined look and his eyes were like…were blue fire.

He had the wooden shield and the sword that we stole from Ordon on his back. He caught me staring at him and smiled slightly. I rolled my eyes.

"So Ter…what now?"

I stared at him, "Faron just told us to go to the forest temple…what do you _think_ we do?"

He smirked, "I don't know …" I raised an eyebrow and he backed away from me slightly.

I shook my head in amusement. Wow.

"Wait Ter…you're 18 right?" I nodded. "All right, and since oldest decides where we go and what we do…"

I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "Let's go to the Forest Temple!"

I rolled my eyes and motioned for him to lead the way.

After we got the gate keys from Coro, we proceeded deeper and deeper into the forest. At one point, a monkey stole Link's lantern, but used it so that we could pass through the poisonous fog floating above the forest floor.

When we reached the other side, I followed Link into the woods. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I slowly took out my bow and put an arrow into place.

Link glanced at me and unsheathed his sword and put his shield on his right hand. Oh yeah, he's a leftie…I forgot about that!

I was about to step on the path to the temple when I heard a ferocious growling from below me. I yelped and jumped back, steeling myself for what was too come.

Link went protectively in front of me and waved his sword tauntingly. The golden wolf with red eyes growled and leaped towards Link and me.

I expected to feel some sort of pain right there, but all I felt was smoothness and peace.

I opened my tightly shuteyes and heard a wolf howl. I inwardly flinched at the sound.

I gasped when the wolf transformed into a skeleton beast. I narrowed my eyes and fired the arrow that was still in place on my bow. The warrior dodged with ease. I growled.

The warrior retracted out of his fighting stance and laughed loudly. He composed himself and stared Link in the eyes, "A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. You may be destined to become the hero of legend...but your current power would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear. You must use your courage to seek power...and find it you must. Only then will you become the hero for whom this world despairs. If you do find true courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrors it now faces...Then you will be worthy to receive the secrets I hold!"

The shade took a deep breath before continuing, his eyes never leaving Link's. "Enemies that are filled with energy will quickly recover and attack again even when stunned by a powerful strike. The ending blow is a secret technique you can use on stunned enemies to end their breath before they spring back into action. When an enemy lies collapsed on the ground, stunned, run up towards it quickly without delay to leap high into the air and deliver a final strike. When the opportunity to end their breath is before you, you will see the signs. Now, try it on me!"

The warrior went into a fighting stance again and stared the hero down.

Link glared slightly and charged, striking the warrior across the chest a few times. I cringed at the power of the blows. The warrior fell down and Link wasted no time to plunge his sword deep into the chest of the enemy before springing himself back up with his feet.

I stared when the warrior got up and stood like nothing had happened. Weird…

The Shade evaluated his skill, "Hmm. That was a pinpoint strike. Never overlook your opportunity to finish your opponent! The first hidden skill, the ending blow, has been passed on!"

Link twirled the sword in between his fingers and slipped it into the sheath on his back. I gaped, that was awesome!

Link looked at me and grinned, I smiled back.

The Hero's Shade spoke again, "There are still six hidden skills for you to learn. Those are only for one who carries the blood of the hero...the one whose spirit is that of the sublime beast. Grow powerful. Test your courage. And when you find that you need another skill to overcome the threats that face you..." The Shade paused, "Search for the statues that howl with the sound of the wind. Seek the sound that calls to the spirit of the beast to awaken me again. A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. Remember those words..." the shade trailed off before looking at me, "Farewell!"

The world suddenly felt and had the appearance of blurriness and haziness at the last word of the shade.

Before I knew what happened, I was on the ground…obviously passed out. I got up slowly and stretched, what was that about? I'm sure that wasn't a dream…

Link's voice snapped me out of my musings, "About time. Come one, Ter…let's do this thing!" I rolled my eyes at Link's sudden burst of enthusiasm.

On to the Forest Temple we go!

**AN: and on to the perfect cliffhanger too! .**

**So, how'd you like it? Hate it? Want to scream at me? Go ahead… XD**

**Review! **


	7. The Forest Temple

**AN: Finally a temple! I'm not sure if reaching a temple is a good thing or a bad thing…it's more work for me, you see! .**

**I tried the best I could though! I used walkthroughs on the net and my guide that I bought alongside Twilight Princess to make this chapter go as smooth as possible. This whole chapter is the forest temple, and I hope it turned out okay.**

**Warning: I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but there will be spoilers for the game in this story. So, if you haven't completed the forest temple yet…don't read any further! **

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

_**Chapter 7**_

Link burned the cobweb blocking the enterence to the Forest Temple with his lantern. When the cobweb was gone, we proceeded inside.

I drew my bow that was sitting on my back and put an arrow into position, holding the bow tightly.

I heard squeaking coming from up ahead and I told Link to shine the lantern so I could see better.

I saw a few bats –or Keese, sorry- flying around in the darkness, but nothing I couldn't handle. With a few well-placed shots, the Keese died and burned up in red flames and smoke.

I smiled inwardly in victory and I continued on ahead, with Link holding out the lantern ahead of us.

When we went into the light, I gasped at the beauty of the place. The walls were rotting away by the sands of time, and the place had been overgrown with vines and other plant life.

I turned my eyes towards a squeaking sound and saw that a monkey, the one that lead us here, was trapped on the ground in a wooden cage. I smirked to myself, it was nothing we couldn't handle.

I approached the cage, only to be jumped by a few Deku Babas. With a few slashes from Link's sword though, they became mulch for the many plants around them. I muttered my thanks and shot the spiders climbing on the vine wall that we would probably have to climb.

Link grinned as he cut the cage of the monkey apart. The annoying squeaking primeape jumped above the vine wall, and motioned for us to follow her.

I strapped my bow on my back and tested the vines for strength. Link started to climb up, a bit slowly.

I groaned inwardly, knowing that there was no way I could do that. I didn't have the upper body strength as most females usually don't.

I managed to pull myself up a meter or two, before feeling my muscles burn and rip apart. By this time, Link was already up and waiting for me.

He went on his knees and held out a hand to me, "Need a hand?"

I looked at his hand and thankfully grabbed it. He in turn used his other arm to grip me by my upper arm and pulled up upwards.

When I was finally on solid ground, I thanked him and we continued through to the other room.

We ran into the next room and I drew my bow again. I put an arrow into place as I scanned the room with wide eyes, trying to take in as much detail as possible.

When we were up on the platform, a huge spider fell down from below and startled me. I hung back at watched as Link expertly dodged and parried the attacks by the spider and successfully jammed his sword into its brain, or lack of there of.

I looked around the room once the spider was destroyed. There were three possible places to go. One to the north, east and west. The glanced at the torches that were around us, unlit.

I looked down the side of the platform towards the northern side of the room and my eyes lit up. There looked like steps were down there!

"Link!" I called, "Use the lantern to light the torches and we'll see if that'll bring the stairs up!" Link obeyed and I smiled when I saw that I was right.

The monkey clapped her hands and ran up the heavy wooden steps towards the door. We followed, but something in the corner caught my eye. It looked like a old piece of parchment and I picked it up.

"Link! It's a map!"

"What? Where?" he responded 

"Over here! I found it half buried in the ground!"

Link took one look at it and grinned, "Huh, would you look at that. This'll be useful! I'll hold onto it"

He took the wrinkled parchment from my hands and carefully put it in a pouch at his side.

We opened the door to the next room and were immedietly greeted by a gust of fierce wind.

I gritted my teeth when sand and leaves smacked up against my face, leaving mud marks all over my face. Oh well, I could wash up later.

The monkey ran across the bridge, and was half way to the other side when a baboon ran out from the opposite side of the bridge. It used a cool looking boomerang to slice the bridge's ropes and half of the bridge hit the sides of the cliff respectively.

Luckily, the monkey climbed up our side of the collapsed bridge and Midna popped out of Link's shadow and ranted about monkey fights and the like.

I rolled my eyes, I didn't really like her…she was shady.

We returned to the crossroads room and the monkey ran towards one of the doors. She leaped up on the scalfolding and hung on a rope that connected the main platform to the door. She hung by her feet, while her hands were suspended in mid-air.

"I think…I think she wants us to jump and swing across?" Link suggested. "I'll go first…" he announced quietly.

I scoffed as he swung across effortlessly. He made it look easy. I gulped when Link signaled it was my turn.

I backed up and took a running jump at the monkey. She caught my hands and swung me over to the other side where I landed with a rather loud thump.

I winced at the sudden stabbing pain in my left ankle, I probably landed the jump wrong.

Link looked at me with concern for a moment before turning around and opening the door.

Link told me to stay where I was and he ran across the bridge, that broke away as soon as he crossed. I watched as he rolled into the pillar, successfully knocking the monkey down. Two-of-those-purple-monsters-who-I-can't-seem-to-remember-the-name-for roared in anger and jumped down from the surrounding wilderness. I witnessed in utter amazement as Link slashed, dashed and diced the enemies into dust.

Note to self: Don't get on his bad side.

The monkeys swung him back over to me and we went back to the crossroads room.

We swung across to the main platform, which was something I didn't want to do again.

The rest of the rooms went in a blur for me. We beat a giant flower that stole a key for one of the monkeys, and we beat that baboon for the Gale Boomerang. I grinned when I remembered that I was in charge of all of the ranged weapons. Score!

We were finally in front of the boss chamber after swinging across a black chasm with seven monkeys aiding us. Luckily, Link suggested that he'd go first. I was glad, because if the monkeys couldn't hold his weight and let him fall to his death…at least I wouldn't follow his example!

I took a deep breath and opened the boss door, gripping my bow tightly.

We entered a large round chamber with a shallow pool of filthy purple water. There were three bomblings poking out of their hollow logs floating in the water.

The water began to bubble on both sides of the purple water, and suddenly two gigantic Babas heads roared out of the water snarling and snapping!

I gripped my bow tighter in fear and I could hear that Link unsheathed his sword.

I fired an arrow at one of the Baba serpents, but it did little or no effect. I cursed under my breath.

I took out the Gale's Boomerang and swung it towards one of the heads. Along the way, it picked up a bombling by accident. That seemed to be the secrets though, because the Baba serpent swallowed the bomb. It let out an earth-shattering shriek and fell into the water.

The other gigantic Baba growled and lunged, successfully grabbing Link's right leg. He screamed and tried to pull it off of him.

I gasped and ran to help him, but it didn't do much good. With a roar, Link plunged his sword deep into the throat of the beast, making it retreat back into the water.

I stared at Link worridly, but he just smiled as if to make my worries go away.

I took in a sharp intake of breath when blood started coming out of the wound.

Hesitating for just a second, I ripped off part of my black tunic to use as a bandage. I didn't care what I looked like at the moment, I didn't want Link to die from blood loss!

I carefully moved Link away from the water and he groaned in agony.

I professionally wrapped my makeshift bandage on his wound, careful to not make it too tight so that blood would stop flowing to it. Thus not letting it heal.

When I was finished, I leaned him up against the farthest wall and I gave him a look that clearly stated, 'Don't go anywhere. I'll handle this'

He nodded in silent understanding and I moved towards the battlefield.

I gasped and stumbled to regain my lost footing when the chamber rumbled. The water started to boil and the bomblings sunk back into the logs before getting swallowed by the water. I nervously glanced around the room, what was happening?

My silent question was soon answered when a giant serpent-like thing came bursting out of the water. The two giant Baba heads that we 'destroyed' before were now flanking the giant beast, and I suddenly felt very small.

The monster roared at me, showing an eyeball in its mouth! Gross!

I shot arrow after arrow, but that didn't seem to do much good.

I glanced back at Link to see him weakly watching the fight and I bit my lip. He wouldn't last very long if I didn't kill this thing soon.

His life basically rested on my skill.

I heard the call of a baboon and was surprised when the white monkey, whose name was Ook, produced a bombling from a high up and unreachable enterance.

The baboon started swinging back and forth on a rope, and I knew what had to be done. I ran over to Link and took his sword from the shealth. He didn't bother to protest, he probably knew what to do aswell.

I aimed my boomerang so that the wind would capture the bombing, but also deliver it to the middle head.

It took me a few minutes of lining up, but I finally let the boomerang go. With a mini tornado in its wake, it successfully took the bombling from Ook's clutches and slammed it up against the foul middle head of the monster.

The beast roared in pain, before falling on the ground, stunned.

The eyeball was looking up at me as I brought Link's sword down…but I didn't care.

With a combination of a growl and a scream, I slammed the sword down into the eyeball.

The monster roared in agony as it started to shrivel up.

It burst into a bunch of black squares that hung in the air for a moment before coming back in one spot.

It was the fused shadow. The first one.

Midna explained to us that it was a fused shadow and she let us out of the temple via a portal.

I grunted as I dragged Link across the floor towards the portal before something caught my eye. I carefully put Link on the ground and I jogged up towards the shining object. I picked it up and gasped in wonder and awe.

The object was a filled in heart, and it looked like it had magic powers of some sort.

Not wasting a second, I put the beautiful heart piece up to Link's heart and watched as the jewel practically melted into Link, waking him up from unconciousness.

I grinned at the sight of his face again.

I picked him up the best I could and dragged him towards the portal where Midna teleported us out of there.

The Forest Temple, was now free of evil.

**AN: Two and a half pages of the boss…**

**I don't think I've ever wrote a battle that complex…XD**

**Ah well, I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it! .**

**Review please.**


	8. The Cursed Village

**AN: This chapter came out later than usual. Mostly because I'm lazy and I've been replaying OoT as well as TP and WW. O.o**

**As Peach The Hedgehog says: I'm on a Zelda kick.**

**I might make a WW fic soon. Expect that. It'll probably be a parody though.**

**Or not. School is here and I have no writing time what so ever. I'll try to squeeze in some time though, somewhere. For you guys:D  
**

**Anyways…**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters…**

_**Chapter 8**_

It has been a few days since we've finished the Forest Temple. I would have liked to stay more in Ordon due to Link's gaping wound on his leg, but he assured me that with the help of red potion…it would be healed in no time.

You know what? He wasn't lying.

We eventually reached Hyrule Field in Faron Province. After fighting off a few Kargaroks and Bokoblins, we sat down under a tree in the middle of the field to rest.

That's where I am now, and that's why I'm musing to myself and letting my mind wander wherever it pleases.

I still haven't got myself a new tunic- even though I needed one. While I was frantically trying to save Link's life- to which he thanked me over and over about - I tore off a quarter of my tunic! I didn't even mean to tear that much off. At least it didn't really reveal all that much…

I still had my now-ripped and worn jeans on though. That much was good. I wasn't wearing the skirt thing that came with Link's tunic. It would look weird on me. That doesn't mean it doesn't look weird on him but still…

I glanced over at Link and found out that he was staring at me oddly. I blushed slightly and got up abruptly as I came to a conclusion.

"Link," I started. "We need to get going. Hyrule isn't going to save itself, you know…"

Link sighed and slowly got up, stretching his muscles all the while. I had to look the other way to avoid blushing my head off.

"But I was just starting to relax!" he pouted, "I think we should go over there, though." He pointed and I squinted my eyes to see. It looked like there was a Door of Twilight over there.

I sighed and motioned for him to lead the way, "Lead the way, my fine furry friend…"

Link snorted in amusement and I just rolled my eyes.

We continued walking to the Twilight Door – our current destination. An hour or so later, when we finally arrived, Midna asked if we were to go into Twilight and warned us that we might not be able to return to the world of light until we free the next area of twilight.

Link nodded 'yes' and Midna floated over to the wall. She made a small ripple going in the wall. A few seconds later, a giant orange hand grabbed both of us and dragged us into twilight!

She wasn't planning on being gentle with us, that was for sure.

When we arrived in Twilight, I felt the familiar feeling of my bones rearranging and my body changing. It didn't hurt as much as before.

When mine and Link's transformations were done, Midna ranted about the clouds of twilight being awesome or something like that. I didn't like her.

Link trotted ahead of me and sniffed a wooden thing…

I stared at it, it looked familiar. It clicked, "Link! It's that wooden sword!" I barked.

Link turned back to look at me and snorted in amusement, "Thanks tips. I knew that already! Come on, I think the children are close…"

Without a complaint or anything from me, we continued on the path. We ran into a couple of Twilight Messengers, but those were easily taken care of.

We were stopped in our tracks by a missing bridge. Midna said that it was the Twilight Messenger's doing. Damn them.

An hour or so later, we found the bridge in Faron Woods and warped back into the Twilight. The bridge fit perfectly into the gap and I howled in triumph. Link just grinned.

We raced into the village, and the Light Spirit here beckoned us to come closer.

"To the heroes...who were transformed into beasts...in the realm of shadows... In twilight...This way..." The light spirit called out weakly. Link and I sauntered forward into the spring.

"...I am...a spirit...of light...Heroes...chosen by the gods... Look for...my light... Gather the light stolen by the shadows...into this..." Once again, the Vessel of Light warped itself around my neck. The being continued painfully, "...The insects of darkness... They are the form taken...by the evil that attached itself...to my scattered light...

In this shadowy twilight...the shadow insects are invisible, much as the people from your light world are...With the last of my power...let me show you…the locations...of the tears that have turned into...shadow insects...But...be careful... The darkness...now hunts you..."

Wow…that was freaky.

Nevertheless though, we explored the village. We went into a few houses and killed the bugs there, collecting the light. Along the way, we found out that the children were relatively safe. Well, that's good. But Midna explained that we were invisible to the world, so we couldn't tell the children that we'd be there soon.

Link also managed to destroy a house…but we got a few tears of light for it.

We traveled up to Death Mountain, as Midna called it, and collected the tears of light there too. The Gorons looked funny.

A few hours later, when the last of the light was finally collected, we were teleported back to the spring where the Vessel slowly unwrapped itself from my neck. It plunged into the spring. In response, the rocks and the water glowed a bright yellow.

I shut my eyes from the light. It hurt.

When I opened my eyes, I could feel that I had gone back into my human form again. Good. I didn't like my coyote form all that much, being around Link freaked me out in that form. Why? I don't know…

All of a sudden, a ball of light came out of the spring. And with it, a weird looking owl thing.

"My name is Eldin" it spoke, "I am one of the light spirits of Hyrule. I am the spirit that guards these lands."

It paused and looked at us before continuing, "O great heroes chosen by the gods. The dark power you seek lies in the sacred grounds of the proud mountain dwellers."

The light spirit sighed, "But already those grounds have been defiled, draped in shadow and seeded with evil. You must go to those sacred grounds and cleanse them. Good luck…" Eldin's voiced echoed across the spring rocks as it slowly faded away.

About 5 seconds later, Colin burst out of the round house that everyone was taking refuge in.

"Link!? Terra!?" Colin called out. I smiled when he remembered my name.

Link grinned, "Hey, Colin! Are you all right? What-"

The other children bickering back and forth interrupted Link. I glared at them, but it didn't help.

"Ha ha ha! See, Beth?! I told you Link would save us!" Talo looked at Beth with a smug smile.

Among the children, there was one girl and two other men who I didn't recognize. One of them had a metal thing on his head…like a welder's hat…and the other one looked like a hippie.

Hippie scanned our faces, "...You are the ones from Ordon whom these children spoke of?" Link and I both nodded. "We are well met. I am Renado, shaman of this town. And this..." he glanced at the welder-looking dude before shaking his head and gesturing to the young girl, "This is my daughter, Luda"

I smiled at the young girl. She seemed nice.

Link tilted his head towards the welder dude and asked, "Cool. And who's this?"

"Oh…his name is Barnes. He makes bombs, I think…" Beth stated quietly.

Ah. Barnes. What a weird name, eh?

Colin interrupted my thoughts, "The beasts took us and left us to die...but Mr. Renado found us."

Renado glanced at the children before turning back to us, "At first, I couldn't believe they had come from so distant a place as the Ordona Province..." he trailed off and let Colin continue.

"Yeah, I..." he corrected himself, "We don't remember much. All of a sudden everyone was captured, and then...until now...it's been like..." he trailed off, not knowing how to describe it.

Malo filled in the gap, "…A nightmare"

Colin sighed, "Yeah! It was like a terrible dream and we couldn't wake up..."

Link and I glanced at each other. I could clearly see worry in Link's eyes.

Renado sighed heavily and spoke, "Nightmares are everywhere these days, it seems. This village has certainly seen its share of recent hardships. The dark beasts attacked, but even worse was the sudden and inexplicable change in the mountain-dwelling Goron tribe. They had long been our friends, but suddenly treated us as foes. Even now they refuse to permit us entry into their mines."

He paused to take a breath, "It strains the limits of belief... To think that such a gentle and proud tribe could change so suddenly..." he trailed off before continuing again, "It makes me wonder if something in those mines is the cause of this change..." Another pause. Renado looked at Link and I with a pleading look in his eyes. "In any case, you must take these children and flee this village before more nightmares descend. I, of course, cannot leave my village in such a time. There is no telling what may happen to us here. But it is my job to try to coax the Gorons back from their recent change of heart"

"Well, that sucks…" I stated bluntly. Link grinned at that and I noticed that the tension in the air seemed to lessen.

Renado, Barnes, Luda and the children all went back inside the house.

Link turned to me, "Ter…you want to see what's up with the Gorons?"

I stared at him like he was under the influence of alcohol, "Link." I started bluntly, "We haven't eaten in awhile. I'm hungry, can't we eat somewhere?"

Link smiled, "Sure. I left all of my food with Epona though…" he frowned at the thought of his horse. Poor guy.

I grinned and wrapped a comfortable arm around his shoulders, ignoring the faint blush across my cheeks. "That's why I'm here for…I brought extra! Let's eat!"

---After we ate…---

We were headed up to Death Mountain to try and see what was wrong with the Gorons. We were just about to climb the ropes, when Renado called out.

"Wait! Stop! That's dangerous!"

We waited for him to run up to us, seemingly out of breath. "As…I…was…saying…Link…and…Terra…" he paused to catch a breath. "It's dangerous to go up there; the Gorons don't let any humans pass. I know I secret that can help you win over the Goron's trust though…" he trailed off and smiled at seeing the curiosity in both of our eyes.

"His name is Bo. You might recognize the name from the town of Ordon. He's the mayor, yeah?" Link nodded and I just stared. What did that guy ever do?

"You two should return to Ordon and let everyone know that the children are safe. Go, and let the Goddesses be with you"

And with that, Link and I walked towards the entrance to the village…the same one that we entered it from.

I stopped, hearing galloping in the distance. Link tensed, he must have heard it as well.

The galloping turned out to be Epona. She shook off the creatures attempting to ride her, but still rode straight towards us! I gasped and dived out of the way. I'm sure that Link did the same.

Epona suddenly reared and Link hopped up on her back from the rear, trying to get her under control. He pulled her reins to the right, left, right, right, left...and Epona reared. Link seized the reins, bring Epona under control. I grinned and he motioned for me to hop on. I did.

We were now riding full speed towards Ordon on Epona, with me scared out of my mind of course.

**AN: Ah, another end of a chapter. Too bad for you! XD**

**I was going to continue on until Link got the Iron Boots, but I've decided to leave that for another chapter. You guys think I should start giving my chapters titles? **

**I also decided to change Renado's speech a bit. Because I didn't make them go up the mountain (only to get pwned by the Goron…XD) so I had to delete most of the stuff that Renado said after. I also added in a few things in the dialogue so that poor Terra wasn't being ignored:P**

**Anyway, Review and I'll be happy:D**


	9. Sumo Wrestling King Bulbin

**AN: Er….here's another chapter, obviously!**

**I would like to take some time here to thank all of my readers and reviewers! You all have put confidence in me, and I probably wouldn't be able to update as fast as I am now without you guys! So…thanks.**

**Oh and…I don't think if you guys have noticed, but I have put titles for my chapters. Some might be good, and some bad but…oh well. For now on, all chapters will have titles for my sanity and yours! XD**

**Heh, you gotta love that title! XD**

**WARNING: UNMARKED SPOILERS (Obviously…XD) **

**Disclaimer: No. See Previous chapters. I do however, own Terra and her coyote form. Also any changes to the plot/dialoge. Oh, and that Vessel of Light collar thing too! .**

_**Chapter 9**_

_**Sumo Wrestling King Bulbin**_

When we arrived in Ordon, Link went around and told everyone that the children were safe and in good hands.

I went to Link's house to get caught up on some shut-eye that I missed.

I don't think I've been asleep for long, when I faintly heard the door of Link's house open.

I slowly opened my eyes and blinked them a few times at the intruder.

The intruter was of course, Link, and he had come to wake me up for something or other.

"Come on, Ter! Wake up! Night is for sleeping, you can do it later! Come and watch me wrestle Mayor Bo!"

I perked up at the word 'wrestle' and followed him out of the house. I noticed her was in his farm clothes again, his tunic probably needed mending.

While we were walking towards Mayor Bo's house, Link filled me in on what's been happening so far, and that he has to fight against Mayor Bo and win to get a secret.

I rolled my eyes. Heh, good luck with that. Mayor Bo is as fat aaaas-

I got inturupted in my thinking when we arrived at the wresting ring. Or should I say, sumo ring.

Mayor Bo was standing on one end of the ring with no shirt on. I stared at him, with a clearly disgusted look on my face. But he was fat! Fat people aren't supposed to get-

Link, from beside me, was in the processes of taking off his shirt too. I swear, I was in a daze or something.

With every little move of his arms, Link's arm muscles would shake, shudder, and twitch.. His arms were like rocks and- holy shit man. He was ripped, seriously! There was no way he could get all of that muscle with just herding stupid goats! He must work-out. I mean, how do you get a full 6-pack from working with goats? I don't know either, don't ask me.

When Link was finished taking off his shirt, he caught me staring at him and must have noticed the blush on my cheeks because he smiled that lopsided smile again.

Link chuckled quietly and got up onto the ring, and went into a crouch position.

The sumo match has officially begun.

Mayor Bo tried to ram Link and push him off, but Link slapped him and tried to push him off.

I didn't concentrate on anything else, just the fact that Link- a 19 year old man- slapped someone made me fall on the floor laugh my face off.

I could feel Link's glare digging into the back of my head, but I didn't care! I slowly stopped laughing to see the two still duking it out.

I got up slowly and attempted ot put a straight face on.

It didn't work.

I burst out laughing again as Mayor Bo slapped Link on the face hard. That was going to bruise.

Eventually, Link got fed up with Mayor Bo slapping him around and checked him off of the ring.

Mayor Bo got up and beamed, "Whoa ho! Not too shabby, lad! With your natural talent, I'm sure you can take on the Gorons. You've got a sight stronger in the short time you've been gone, Link!"

A pause, "Strong as you are, though, you can't hope to beat the Gorons wrestlin' with power alone. Those Gorons are made of rock!" Mayor Bo grinned at Link's expression that clearly stated, 'no shit' "

Naw, the secret to beatin' the Gorons...is locked away in that chest" A pause. "Take it with you, lad"

I grinned as Link pulled out a pair of extremely heavy boots out of the chest. Even with his muscle, he could barely lift them up! Mayor Bo laughed when Link let them slam against each other when they hit the ground with a loud thud. I winced at the sound.

"You can probably tell, those boots are made of iron, lad." This earned a slight glare from the panting Link.

Mayor Bo chuckled at him and continued, "Whoever wears 'em won't easily be pushed around...even by a Goron. If you're fixin' to fight a Goron, be sure to wear those boots"

An uneasy pause followed and then, "...Let's be square, though, lad: You can't ever tell ANYONE about those boots! 'Specially Renado!"

Link nodded and muttered something out of his breath before smiling, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone…" he turned his gaze towards me and I winced. I was so going to get it for laughing at him.

"Come on, Ter. We've got a lot of work to do…" he motioned me ot follow him and with a quick smile to Mayor Bo, I walked out of the house.

As soon as I exited the door, I felt someone punch me roughly in the shoulder.

"Ow! What the frick was that for?"

Link snorted as he glared at me, "That, was for laughing at me when I hit Mayor Bo. That's what you do in sumo wresting…"

I turned ot him as we approached Epona and snorted, "ha! Sure Link…sure…"

He rolled his eyes as I mounted Epona. He did followed soon afterward.

It wasn't long until we were off towards Kakariko Village. Link spurred Epona into a full-out gallop, but I wasn't scared this time. Oh no, this time…

It was pure bliss.

I laughed slightly at the wind that played with my hair as we zoomed through Hyrule Field.

If only if I was aware of the danger that we were heading towards.

**AN: Sorry about the short chapter! hides from projectiles **

**But I really don't feel like writing the King Bulblin battles right now, and I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. **

**Review please! **


	10. The Battle for Colin

**AN: Heh. Sorry…for…the…delay. I didn't feel like digging out the guide for this (It was underneath a pile of…crap) and I was lazy. Not to mention…I was sick for a few days. And I still am. (at the time of typing...)  
**

**I have finally finished this chapter though! It took forever and well….yeah. Just read. **

**Disclaimer: I'm not even going to bother with these anymore. Unless I make up a new item or something…there won't be any more of this. I don't know if that is good or bad. XD**

_**Chapter 10**_

_**The Battle for Colin**_

We arrived in Kakariko just in time to see King Bulblin snatch up poor Colin and ride away with him.

Link growled from in front of me, and I wrapped my arms around his waist tighter- if that was possible.

He spurred Epona through the village. Everything was in a gigantic blur of colours and shapes as we raced after the kidnappers of Colin. Yep. One big giant blur.

I put one of my cheeks on Link's shoulder and braced myself for the jump so we could get out of the village.

When the jump was over, Link kicked Epona in the sides again…and we went into unexplored territory.

We arrived in the open field. I gapsed in wonder. It was freakin' huge! I couldn't see the end of the field on my left, my right and-

Oh. There's King Bulblin.

King Bulblin was on his blue armoured boar, and had Colin wrapped up around a tall wooden spear like thing with a frayed red flag at the end of it above Colin's head.

Link growled, "Terra. Get off. Now. Let me deal with this"

I shook my head no, but I didn't think Link cared what my opinion was.

He pulled back on Epona's reins, which caused her to rear back. I wasn't ready for the manouver, and when I tried to grab onto Link, he just pushed me away and I fell on my ass behind Epona.

I scowled. What a bastard.

The green ogre made a weird sound and blew into a horn. Just the sound of the horn sent shivers up my spine.

My ears twitched when I heard a thundering sound in the distance. I knew what it was. Hooves. Boar hooves.

Link knew what they were too, because he was already off on Epona frantically chasing after King Bulbin.

Too bad he pushed me off though, because one of the boars was heading straight for me. I knew I wasn't able to dodge it, so I just stood there and awaited for the tusks of the beast to penetrate into my abdomonin. Granted, it wasn't the best way to die but…

It was Link's fault. Damn that man.

I took one last glance at Link to see how he was faring and to see if _he_ was going to die.

I saw him slash off the last piece of armor on King Bulbin, and he roared in agony. He urged his boar towards the bridge and jumped over-

Wait. Why aren't I dead yet?

I looked around me, and saw that the boar-riders were gathering around the bridge to watch the fight.

I felt a growl rise in my throat for reason unknown and I ran towards a spare boar just _waiting_ for someone to take it.

That is what I exactly did. I jumped on it's back and kicked it. Hard. It reared back and charged forward. I barely held on, and somehow managed to avoid killing myself.

I finally arrived at the edge of the bottom-less abysus that the bridge was crossing.

Oddly enough, the enemies around me didn't attack.

Link and King Bulbin both spurred their mounts towards each other. Just when Kin Bulbin was about to hit Link, he pulled sharply on Epona's reins. She moved quickly to the left and Link ferioiusly slashed at King Bulbin's side.

The green beast howled out in pain while his mount continued forward. I growled and I got ontop of my boar. Oddly enough, it didn't charge. Thankfully.

I took my bow from my back and nocked an arrow. I bit my lip in concentration and I carefully aimed…

_Twang!_

That was the sound that the bowstring made when I let go of the arrow. The arrow flew perfectly straight and hit its mark. King Bulbin's mount. The arrow slammed into the blue monster's right front leg.

The boar cried out in surprise at the sudden unexpected pain and tripped over its other three legs. The beast went plumming over the edge, King Bulbin close behind.

I urged my boar into a gallop as I approached where Colin still war on the ground. King Bulbin must have dropped him before the jousting match. I untied him and held him close to my chest. He was unconscious.

I heard horse hooves approach and I say Link angrily got off.

He looked more angry at the now-dead King Bulbin than at me though. I was sure that I would get hell later. Meanwhile, the priority right now is Colin and make sure we get him to the others safetly.

I didn't want to leave my boar behind, but it didn't want to go past a certain point in the field. Weird.

That meant I had to leave without it. It also meant that I had to carry Colin back the the village since Link was riding Epona.

Ugh.

---

When I _finally_ got Colin into the village, I was sweating enough to fill a few barrels and I collapsed in front of the shaman's house.

I groaned. I was tired.

Link glanced at me worridly before turning back to Colin. He was stirring.

"Link..." Colin spoke weakly. The boy opened his eyes slowly and glanced around at everybody.

"Is everyone...OK?"

Link smiled and Colin grinned back, "…Good"

Colin turned his head towards Beth and asked, "Beth, are you mad at me….when I pushed you?"

Beth seemed shocked for a second, but then shook her head back and forth.

I was grinning from the sidelines. I wasn't from this world, so I shouldn't intervene…

Colin suddenly looked at me and asked, "Terra…did you save me too?"

I wanted to say that I brought King Bulblin down all by myself, but that was Link. So instead I said, "No. I came with Link but…I just got in the way. He really saved you…"

Link seemed momentarily shocked at my humbleness and I could tell he wanted to talk to me about it later.

He turned back towards Colin, "She just wants to give the credit to me. She actually saved my life on the bridge…"

A pause, "No I didn't. I just got in the way" I retorted, desperate to make Link get all the credit.

I really did think I was just in the way though.

Link shook his head and looked at Colin.

I sighed and turned away, wanting to give them privacy. I was just getting in the way after all…

I walked over to a shop that wasn't there before. The building was plastered with picture's of Malo's face.

I opened the door to the run-down shop…to find no one there. I raised an eyebrow and approached the counter.

What I saw on the shelves caught my eye.

It was a blue shield with a white border around it. It was the Hylian Shield.

Malo spoke from behind the wooden shield, "Hey! Don't touch anything!"

I raised an eyebrow, "I wasn't. How much is that….shield?" I pointed at the Hylian shield.

Malo glanced at it, "Oh. That one is 200 rupees"

I nodded, "Oh. Okay. Thanks…"

I walked out of the shop, cursing inwardly. It was too expensive!

When I opened the door to the outside world, I shut my eyes instinctively from the light that reached my eyes.

I rapidly blinked them to get them to adjust faster.

To my surprise, no one was standing there. Not even Link.

I shrugged. They probably just went to put Colin to bed…or something.

I adjusted the bow on my back, and got it into a more comfortable position. I sat down on the dusty path. I had a feeling this would take awhile.

Contary to my belief, Link was out of the inn a few minutes later.

He saw me and waved, I raised a hand…to tired to wave.

By now, it was dark outside. I was tired, hungry, and cold. I wasn't about to admit to it though.

Link walked up to me with a raised eyebrow and asked, "Where were you?"

I just glanced at him and shrugged, still sitting on the ground with my legs outstretched and my hands behind my butt, "At Malo's shop. You know, there's an awesome shield there. But it is expensive. Like 200 rupees…" I trailed off.

Link grinned, "I have more than that. I think I have…" A pause. Probably to think. "around 300 rupees. Give or take a few"

I nodded in understanding, I knew this was just small talk.

"So…" Link started, not really sure how to approach the topic.

He sat down beside me on the dusty road. I waited for him to continue, "Why did you give me all the credit? For saving Colin…I mean."

I thought about it. I didn't really know why…but I didn't want his pity. "Oh. That. I was just getting in the way. You didn't even want me to come in the first place"

Link nodded, "Because it was dangerous"

I looked at him, "So? I helped you beat the forest temple…and that was dangerous too"

He shook his head and looked into my eyes, "No. That was different. Now…" he paused.

"Now…I don't know what to feel. What I do know…is that I'm hungry and tired. And you probably are too. So, come on. Let's get a room or two at the inn, shall we?"

I sighed and nodded in agreement. I stood up and brushed off my legs and butt with my hands and jogged to catch up with Link.

---

"What do you _mean_ there is only one bed left?" I glared suspiciously at Renado.

He chuckled, "You heard me, Terra. There is only one bed left. The other one is being used for Colin. We used to have a lot more, but they got destroyed by those…black monsters"

I growled. That was bullcrap, and he knew it.

"Prove it" I bit out.

Renado just looked at me and chuckled. He made his way up to where the 'only one more bed' was. I sighed in frustration and followed. Ugh.

Link chuckled from behind me and followed me up the steps.

When I turned the corner, I found out (with horror) that Renado was right. There was only one more bed.

I knew that this meant. Link was going to give up the bed to me, and he would have to sleep on the hard wooden floor.

Ha. Fat chance. We have a temple to beat tommorow, I don't need him cramped up.

Renado glanced at Link as he exited the room. I stared at him suspiciously as he left. There was something fishy going on…

But what?

"Terra. You have the bed. I have the floor" Link stated, already setting himself down on the wooden floor. I grabbed his upper arm and attempted to pull him up. It didn't work as well as I planned though, because I fell on top of him.

Thankfully, everyone else was in another room. Or else…it would have been even more embarrassing.

I blushed and got off from Link and stood, "No. I take the floor, you take the bed. We have a temple to beat tomorrow, and I don't need you all sore and cramped up"

Link chuckled at my embarassement, "That's not the way it works. I take the floor and-"

I cut him off, "That's the way it works now. Get on the bed," I pointed at the empty bed. "and I will sleep on the floor"

Link smiled slightly and shook his head, "No. And you can't make me." A pause. Link smirked, "As you already saw"

I grumbled something under my breath and sat down on the floor. I leaned my back up against the wall opposite of Link.

"Link," I started, "Get your ass on that bed"

He smirked again, "No. You get on that bed"

I swore my eye twitched. What did it matter?

"No, Link. I am not getting on that stupid b-" I was cut off abruptly as Link grabbed me (bridal style) and plopped me down on the bed. He grinned, while I just scowled.

I tried to get up, but he pushed me down, "No. Terra. You go on the bed, and I will sleep on the floor. I won't get cramped up, I do it a lot"

Do what a lot? Sleep on the floor?

He has a bed in his room. I doubt it.

I muttered a curse at him and watched as he smugly sat down on the wall beside the bed that I was in.

"Good night…"

I rolled my eyes and turned the other way. This bed sucked. "G'night…"

I closed my eyes. What did you know? I was out. Like that.

**AN: This chapter was longer than usual…**

**There's nothing to say except…REVIEW! .**


	11. Climbing Death Mountain

**AN: …Here's another chapter. I tried to make this one as…descriptive as possible. I hate writing the temple scenes. I really do. I need a few suggestions for the next one. See end author's note for that, please. **

**Warning: A little bit more swearing than usual. Not much though.**

**I'll see you guys at the bottom! .**

_**Chapter 11**_

**_Climbing Death Mountain_**

I slowly opened my tired eyes. I quietly turned over on my bed so I was not facing the wall anymore.

I smiled tiredly when I saw Link sleeping soundlessly on the wooden floor. His chest was rising and falling with each breath. His limbs were sprawled all over the floor, and he looked like he had a rough night.

I chuckled to myself when I remembered the night before. Link had fought with me for at least half an hour…he insisted on getting the floor. I knew he was going to be sore today, but knowing him…he wouldn't admit it.

I got up as quietly as possible from the bed. I cringed slightly when I heard it creak in protest. I glanced at Link when he groaned from the sudden noise.

He just rolled over to one side, facing the other way. I sighed in relief.

I was about to start walking again, when I heard a muffled groan coming from Link. Hah. I was right, he _was_ sore.

Thinking he was just groaning and moaning in his sleep, I continued my trek to get outside of the room. I wanted some time alone to think.

I could hear the soft thuds of my feet against the cold floor, and I went along as silently and as slowly as possible. I reached Link, he was a good 3 meters away from my bed, I lifted one leg up and slowly brought it down on the other side of him. I did the same with my other foot. Just when my other foot was about to clear him, I felt a hand roughly grab it. I yelped slightly as I felt someone pull me downwards.

Oof! I hit the floor with a small thump. Luckily, I put my hands out to avoid hurting my face against the wood.

I turned my head to see who had my foot. It was, of course, Link. He was smirking and he whispered, "What are you doing up this early?"

I glared at him and responded just as quietly, "I wanted some time alone for awhile. I need to…think"

Link nodded his head softly in understanding, "I see. Sorry for startling you, but I couldn't resist!"

I rolled my eyes and started to pick myself off of the floor. My hands were still burning slightly from the impact, but I didn't say anything.

I felt a strong hand push me back down towards the floor. It was Link's.

"Link, what are you doing? Let me leave." I glared at the green-clad boy. He smiled sweetly, to which I blushed at, and let me go. I left the room in a huff, and I could faintly hear him chuckle when I stormed out of the room.

When I opened the door to the outside, a blast of cold air hit my face. I shivered from the sudden cold. I could see the sky light up on the horizon a little bit and grinned. I could finally be able to see the sunrise properly! I could never do that back home…

I sat down on the wooden platform that was there, and I watched the sunrise. I thought about a lot of things. Home was one of them. I missed my family and my friends. I wondered if life was still going on back on Earth. I shook my head, of course it was. I was just missing.

Or was I? Maybe I have a clone on Earth that is doing everything for me. Right now, it would be getting up for school. I hoped I didn't have a clone though. It would not be fun.

I didn't know how long I was there, but when I heard the door open behind me…I jumped.

Link chuckled, "Sorry. I just wanted to check on you. The village is still dangerous, you know"

I replied, "Yeah, I know."

"What are you thinking about?"

I hesitated, not really sure if I should tell him about my home on Earth. I decided not too. It would only make things more…awkward then it already was.

"Oh, just…stuff. I'm watching the sunrise too" I responded.

I heard Link shuffle from behind me and I watched in mild annoyance that he sat down beside me.

"Beautiful, isn't it? I used watch the sunset and sunrise all the time back in Ordon"

"Yeah" I muttered.

I looked back up at the sunrise. I gasped at all of the colours reflecting off of the fluffy clouds. The sky itself was a stunning collaboration of different hues and shades of red, purple, orange and yellow. It was breathtaking.

Link chuckled from beside me, "I told you it was pretty" I heard him mutter quietly so I wouldn't hear, "Not as pretty as you though…" I blushed and turned away…not wanting him to realize that I just heard what he said.

My gaze went back up to the sky. It was…. just plain awesome. The sun was barely suspended in the sky when Link quietly and nervously said, "Um…Terra. I have something I want to say"

I turned to look at him. He was blushing! How cute!

I grinned and waited for him to continue. I had a feeling where this was going.

"Um…I…. err…. just wanted to tell you…. that I…I…." he sighed, "Never mind…"

I raised an eyebrow. Link didn't seem like the kind of guy that would chicken out.

I shrugged off any following thoughts to avoid me blushing, and concentrated on the sky.

"When are we…leaving?" I asked Link quietly.

No answer.

I looked over at Link again to find him staring at his feet. I sighed.

"Link…" I poked his leg. He still didn't do anything.

I tried again. Nothing.

I went up close to his face and roughly poked him on the forehead. He blinked rapidly and blushed deeply when he realized how close I was to his face. I blushed slightly too.

I repeated my question and he replied, "Sometime today…"

I rolled my eyes at his reply. Way to be vague…

"Yeah, Link" I started sarcastically, "When today?"

He smirked and looked at me, "Sometime soon"

"Define 'soon'"

"In a few hours"

"Oh"

That shut me up. I scowled playfully. He won that one…

I got up slowly and grimaced when I felt my bones pop and crack from being in the same position for too long.

I started making my way towards the inn when Link's voice stopped me, "Wait"

I stopped mid-step and looked back at him. He was getting up. I rolled my eyes. Slowpoke.

When he was at a reasonable distance, I continued.

He rushed ahead of me and opened the door and gestured for me to go first. I stopped and backed up a few steps. Link raised an eyebrow and I chuckled.

I didn't want to go first. That was what he wanted me to do. Why? I had no clue.

He scowled jokingly and went inside first. I rolled my eyes and followed.

---

Luda, Renado's daughter, cooked us up a nice breakfast. I was a bit reluctant to try cucco eggs, but I was surprised that they tasted exactly like chicken eggs back on earth. I guess it would make sense though. Cucoos did look exactly like chickens.

She also served us a kind of flatbread that looked like pancakes. I smiled. I love pancakes.

When I shoved the first forkful into my mouth…it tasted like anything _but_ pancakes. Link must have noticed the disgusted look on my face, because he smirked.

I managed to shove down the rest of my food and muttered a 'thanks' to Luda. She smiled and started to clean the dishes.

---

Link sighed as he forked over 200 rupees for the Hylian Shield. I watched the transaction with amused eyes. For the past half hour, Link has been trying to haggle the price down to 150 rupees…but to no avail.

Link gave Malo his Ordon Shield and asked how much he would buy it for.

Malo took one look at the shield and said in his puny voice, "Hmph. That one would be 40 rupees"

Link grinned when he received 40 rupees for his old shield and I just rolled my eyes.

When we exited Malo 'Mart', as he dubbed it, Link put his new shield on his back. It was shiny and reflecting the sunlight back into my eyes. I grunted and looked away from the blinding shield and Link just grinned.

"I think it's about time we head on over to help out the Gorons, eh Terra?"

"…Yeah"

We made our way towards the mountain path. When we arrived, Link stopped and said, "Terra…you might want to stay away. I am going to hurl that Goron over the cliff"

I snorted in disbelief, but then remembered that he had the Iron Boots. Not even a Goron would be able to move him now…

---

I withdrew my bow and aimed at the Goron that was currently trying to pound poor Link into the ground. I let go of the string and watched in smug satisfaction as the arrow hit against the Goron's forehead. I knew that wouldn't kill it.

To Link's surprise, and mine it curled up into a ball. Link gasped and pulled me onto the Goron, and wrapped an arm around my waist. Was I blushing? Yep.

The Goron started shaking and launched us up towards the ledge. I landed on my feet with a loud thump, and so did Link. But he bent his knees in more than usual. I saw his leg muscles flex, and shake under the sudden impact. He glanced at me and grinned.

I rolled my eyes as we continued forwards. Show off.

We 'beat' a few more Gorons, and Link tossed a few more over a cliff in the past hour we were here. I was sweating. It was _boiling_ here! What is this? A volcano?

I voiced my complaints to Link and he just smirked, tapped my shoulder two times with a finger, and pointed up towards the top of the mountain. It was a volcano.

I groaned. Ugh.

We were nearly at the top, only two more Gorons to go…

I nocked an arrow and prepared to fire at the Goron's forehead (like I have been doing for the past hour) when something hit me from behind.

I gasped out in sudden pain as a nearby Goron knocked the bow out of my hands, making the bow fall all the way to the foot of the mountain, and scraping my hands in the process. I winced at the pain. The same Goron , I assumed, put a hand over my mouth.

My first reaction was to scream the sound was muffled-a lot- by the Goron's hand so Link didn't hear me.

When that didn't work, I tried to elbow the Goron…, which only succeeded in scraping up my elbow. I winced at the pain. I struggled for a few more seconds until going still. I was too tired to fight…

I saw another Goron from the corner of my eye move towards Link- quietly…for a Goron. Link heard it though, and whipped around. When he saw me being held captive, he growled and slashed at the Goron approaching him from behind and ran up to me. He was just about to cut my captor into shreds when a booming voice yelled, "STOP!"

"Are these humans so threatening that you need to gain up on them? I think not, brothers." I looked up and saw a small but powerful Goron, who was obviously was chieftain, yell from on top of the ledge where our goal was.

The Gorons were momentarily distracted. I growled and stomped my foot down on my captor's foot. Hard. It yelped in pain, but still kept it's hand over my mouth.

I growled again but stopped when another one twisted my arm behind my back. The chieftain glared, "Stop that. You're going to kill her. She isn't as strong as the male humans"

I fumed. Sexist asshole.

Link's sword was up against another Goron's neck, and he held it there. He glanced towards me and demanded, "If you let her go…I won't slit his neck"

The chieftain sighed from above, "Let. Her. Go"

The Gorons reluctantly compiled and I glared at them. I looked down towards the ground and, to my dismay; the bow that had been knocked out of my hands broke in two pieces when it smashed up against the jagged rocks below.

Link practically ran towards me and I instinctively cowered closer to him. My body was practically pressing up against his. Did I care? No. I wanted protection; I didn't even have a weapon now.

The chieftain stated, "We will not be enemies of yours…if you can prove yourself in strength. In a sumo wrestling match"

Link huffed and gripped his sword tightly in one hand…and his new Hylian shield in the other, "Fine. We need help up though"

The chieftain motioned for the nearby Goron to curl up into a ball. Link still didn't leave my side, "No. A different way. I don't trust you guys"

And damn straight he shouldn't! That stupid Goron could have killed me!

The Goron Chieftain sighed, "We won't hurt you. Just obey. The woman has to stay outside though. Inside is too…harsh for her"

I huffed. Ass.

Link growled, "No. She is coming."

The chieftain sighed and glanced at me, "Fine. It's her funeral. Come"

When we were blasted off towards the final (Thank God!) platform, I landed unsteadily and had to resort to all fours. I groaned. I felt dizzy...

Link looked at me worriedly before pulling me up by my upper arm and steadying me. I thanked him with a slight blush creeping on my cheeks. He noticed and smiled a little.

I hate hormones…

I followed Link in as best I could, limping slightly. I at least learned one thing today: Never stomp on a Goron's foot. They are made of rocks. Probably literally too.

Link put on his Iron Boots when the Chieftain wasn't looking. I snickered. This was going to be fun to watch.

The sum match started. I leaned up against a nearby wall, not really interested. I was in too much pain. I think I broke my foot, because it hurt to touch it against…anything. I happened to notice that Link was clothed all the way for this. I couldn't help a small sigh escape my lips. Well, damn it. I was hoping that I would be able to see his chest at least one more time. Apparently not though.

When the match was over, the Chieftain apologized to him and said he was allowed into the Mines. I apparently didn't exist though, because he didn't even mention me.

Link gestured towards me, "What about her?"

The Goron leader looked at me and scowled, "She's just a woman. I can't believe you actually let her fight…" I could feel my fists curl into fists. I hated sexist comments with a passion. Who didn't?

The Gorons must have noticed my anger though, because they all burst out laughing.

"Ha! Look at her! She's mad! I think she wants to punch one of us!" One laughed.

"That's funny. She would probably break that hand, and then cry her eyes out about breaking a nail in the process" another one snickered.

Gr…

Link walked towards me and clearly had a look on his face that said, 'Ignore them. Let's go'

I nodded to his silent order and followed him in, very aware that I had no weapon. This would be interesting indeed.

**AN: Oh, man. I have an awesome idea how this dungeon is going to play out next chapter! . **

**But…I still need help. I've been wondering for sometime now. You know in the part of the dungeons where you need the iron boots to go on ceilings and such? Yeah. There is only one pair of iron boots. That presents a problem. How is Terra going to go along with Link through the dungeon if she doesn't have a pair? Even if she did though, I doubt she would have the leg muscles in order to lift it. **

**Another problem. You know when you're upside down on the magnetic roof in one room (it's like a maze…) I think I am going to skip that part and just put in some sort of…elevator leading up to the platform. Why? Because if you were upside down…blood would rush to your head, thus making you go unconscious and probably killing you. I figured it was magic the first time I played through that part but now…I think of it as stupid. I need help guys…or this story won't be able to continue! This is urgent here. Thanks. **

**REVIEW:D**


	12. The Goron Mines

**AN: This chapter is the whole Goron Mines. I used my guidebook for this one. I used as much description as I could. I hope it was good enough. **

**Thanks to DarkMicky for explaining how I could go about with the blue stuff. That's a really good idea, and I decided to go with it. Thanks! .**

**You know what is really awesome? I finally got that picture of Sacred River I was talking about a few weeks or so ago…it is in my deviantart. The link is in my profile. While you are there, please check out my other stuff there too! Thanks. .**

**Disclaimer: I own any changes to the plot and/or any changes to the temples/ any items I make or modify. If you wish to use them…ASK FOR PERMISSION! I own Terra too, but you already knew that. **

_**Chapter 12**_

_**The Goron Mines**_

I felt a blast of heat hit my face as we entered into the belly of the mountain. In front of us, lava jets rose and fell into the lava pools below and there were a few narrow platforms above the sizzling pool of lava.

Already, little beads of sweat were forming all over my body. I glanced at Link. He wasn't doing much better. I was panting from the heat. So was he.

It was hot, man.

He had apparently noticed I was limping because he asked, "What's wrong?"

I winced, "My foot. I hurt it when I stomped on that stupid Goron's foot…" I trailed off. Link started looking in his back pocket for something. He smiled and pulled out what he was looking for.

A red potion. I grinned. This was good. I drunk it (it tasted really _bad_) but my foot felt as good as new! I smiled and thanked Link. He blushed.

Link motioned me to follow him and I nodded. In a place as hot as this, it was wise to not waste any effort or energy by talking unless you absolutely had to.

We jumped across to the other side, and we took a minute or two to catch our breath. I knew this dungeon would be intense from the start but…not _this_ bad.

We jumped on a few more platforms, dodged a few furnace jets, and killed a few torch slugs. Only to finally arrive at a door. It was barred off with crudely made bars and steel.

Link looked at the door for a moment before turning his attention to a suspicious lever looking thing. He grinned and took out his Iron Boots from his back pocket. I didn't know how they got in there. I would have to ask Link about that later.

The bars from the door went up and we were able to continue on through the dungeon. I groaned. This was not going to be fun.

Something white and shiny caught my eye from the corner of the platform and I tapped Link on the shoulder and pointed at the…thing. He quietly said, as if talking quietly would reserve energy, "Go and find out what it is. I'll wait here."

I nodded and approached the…thing. I moved a few barrels that were blocking the way and I recoiled at what I saw.

A skull was lying there, in all of its white and rotting glory. I shuddered and backed away from the thing.

I remembered with a pang that I still didn't have a weapon. I still had the quiver, which was half full of arrows on my back though. I had a feeling we would find another bow soon…

Link placed both hands on the door and pushed to the side, successfully opening the door.

I had to shield my face from yet another heat wave. I looked around.

It looked like were in…some sort of factory. There were grated platforms, ramps, and machinery lying around randomly. Above us, the Hylian sky shone brightly. We were obviously just below the mouth of the volcano.

I shuddered at the thought of the mountain erupting right now. We would be dead (but cooked) meat.

I snapped out of my reverie to see Link come back with a key. I didn't even realize he was gone. I shrugged and followed him across a few more platforms that would turn upside down.

Link unlocked and opened the door on the other side. It opened in the same fashion as the first one.

We went through the next room in the same fashion, but except…it were full of Dodongos. With a few swipes of Link's sword though, they were dead. I waited in front of a weird looking wall. Link told me to wait, he was suspicious of something. I couldn't blame him. This room _was _weird. I jumped when the wall behind me started to move to the side in jerks. I looked out of a crack in the short hallway I was in. I saw that Link was pulling a chain with a big handle at the end that was attached to the wall.

The wall suddenly…stopped moving. I heard pants coming from Link on the other side of the wall. He must have let go, because the wall was moving by itself. There was a door on the other side, so I walked to it. A few seconds later, Link came leaping from the last platform and just cleared the closing wall that threatening to make him part of the architecture in the dungeon.

Link stood there and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath. I waited patiently.

A few minutes later, we continued on.

We arrived in a room that had a pool of water. That was a nice change, considering the rest of the dungeon was bound to have all lava and fire in it. I hate fire.

Link turned to me, "Stay here. You can go swimming in the pool if you want to refresh…but don't waste any energy. I'll be back…"

I grinned and dived into the pool. The cool water felt heavenly against my hot and dirty skin. I started to tread water.

Link slipped on his iron boots and dived in as well. Except, he was sinking. He ran as fast as he could towards a chest and opened it. He pulled out a key and ran underneath a hole in the grating dividing the pool in half that I forgot to mention.

He stepped on a switch on the other side and I gasped when he got pulled up onto this…blue looking stuff. Wait.

Was that stuff magnetic? Cool. Now he could walk on walls and stuff.

He stomped up towards the door that was high up and took off the boots. He looked at me and managed a small smirk, to which I laughed at. He turned around and opened the door. I sighed and went on my back…just floating there. I waited for him to return.

I kicked a sharp object underneath the water and I gasped out in pain…swallowing some water in the process. I regained my composure and looked down into the crystal clear pool. It looked…. shiny? I shrugged my shoulders and dived down. I picked the object and swam to the surface. To my surprise, it was kind of heavy.

I hauled myself out of the water and looked at the object. There were, in fact, two. They were metal, I knew that much. They looked like thin sheets of metal, to be honest. I figured they were just randomly lying there because this was a mine. Mines usually do have metal things lying around, right?

I got an idea. I grinned at my smartness. They two sheets of metal looked suspiciously like shoe soles. I took off my running shoes (that were now worn down) and I took out the soles. I figured that if I were going to walk in them, my feet being on metal wouldn't be comfortable. I put in (more like jammed in…) the metal sheet into each shoe, hoping this would work. I placed the sole on top. I spotted the nearest blue wall and dived into the water to check it out. I dived down…down…. and down. I frantically kicked my feet in order for me to go into the hole of the gate. When I reached a certain point on the other side, I felt a tugging sensation on my shoes. All of a sudden, I got pulled up and onto the blue wall. I grinned. Awesome!

I did a little victory dance while singing, "I am so smart. I am so smart. S-m-r-t…I mean….s-m-a-r-t!"

Just then, Link came emerging out of the door I was in front of. He recoiled slightly, but then regained his composure.

With an eyebrow raised, he asked, "Terra…how did you get up here?"

I smiled like a little kid and told him what happened. He rolled his eyes.

Link said, "Well that's cool. Let's go, shall we?" I nodded and followed him through the Goron Shrine with the first Elder.

After we went up the ladder, we exited the door and went up the magnetic wall and through the door above.

I was surprised on how easily I could walk. I thought it would be really heavy like Link's Iron Boots. I mean, it was still hard to fight against the powerful magnetic pull of the wall, but it was easier than I had expected.

We went through the next couple of rooms slowly. We activated a few cranes with that same blue stuff on it that were able to move from one end of the dungeon to another, and we have collected another shard of the boss key from another Elder Goron.

All this time, I have had no weapon to help Link fight.

We were in front of a door on a platform at this point. We had just crossed a bunch of rotating bridges over a pit of water full of jumping spiders.

Link demanded, "Ter, stay here…outside this door. I have a feeling that there is a…powerful enemy beyond this door, and-"

"And I will just get in the way?" I filled in for him. He shook his head, "No. You will not get in the way. I just…don't want you to get hurt"

I knew, obviously, that I would just get in the way…but I kept my mouth shut and just agreed to wait there.

Link smiled at me as he opened the door.

I rolled my eyes and waited for him to come back.

A few minutes later, he still hasn't returned. I started to get nervous. What if something happened? What if he _forgot_ about me? Stupid thoughts started making their way into my brain at my nervousness.

I tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. It was too heavy for me to move. I cursed.

A few more minutes later, and Link came prodding out of the door with a huge smile on his face. He had something behind his back, to which I glared at suspiciously.

"Link, what was in there and what is behind your back?" His grin grew wider, if that was possible.

"It was this giant Goron that didn't know we were friends with them yet. And behind my back…" He brought out one hand from behind his back and I gasped.

In his hand, was a bow? A beautifully made bow, and a quiver to match. I squealed and pried the bow from his grip. He just rolled his eyes.

"I think it is called the Hero's Bow. It was used by the Hero long ago to seal away the Evil Power. It's in the legends." Link informed. I just nodded, not really paying attention.

I grinned and put it on my back. Link handed me the soft leather quiver, and I put that on my left hip, since there was no more room on my back. I attached the bow to my back.

I grinned and pointed in the general direction I thought we should go, "Let's go!"

Link rolled his eyes and chuckled at my sudden enthusiasm.

We went through a few more rooms in the temple, such as collecting the last key shard and solving many puzzles that would allow us to get to the boss room. This time though, I was able to help.

We were finally in front of the boss door. Link was catching a few fairies in his bottles, and I was just…sitting against a wall.

I drunk some more of that red potion that Link gave me at the start of the dungeon for my foot. I smiled again when it gave me more energy. I didn't dare waste it by moving around though, so I kept still.

Link looked up at me with determination in his blue feral-like eyes, "You ready?"

I grinned, "As ready as I'll ever be"

Link handed me to boss key to unlock the door this time. Both of us heaved the door open, ready to face whatever came at us.

We entered a green and serene looking round chamber. In front of us was this gigantic black form that was restrained by four big chains. Only the tusk-shaped helmet of the beast could be seen. I shuddered at the beast's heavy breathing. A gem with a pupil in the middle started to glow red-hot and the beast opened its fiery red eyes.

Link glanced at me and drew his sword. I took out my bow and nocked an arrow.

The creature straightened up and roared at us, trying to get us with its teeth. It stopped, however, when it noticed it was chained up.

With an earth-shattering roar from the beast, it burst into flames. The temperature of the room skyrocketed almost immediately and I nearly passed out from the sudden heat.

The chains around its wrists and ankles were melting from the intense heat, and with one simple tug of each of its limbs…the beast was free.

I gulped and aimed an arrow at the gem. I didn't know how I knew it was its weak spot, but I figured it was obvious…since it is glowing and it seems like the source of its power.

The beast saw me aiming at it and growled at me. It started stomping towards me, when it felt a tug on one of its chains. I grinned when I saw Link pull on one of the monster's leg chains with the iron boots on.

With the beast momentarily distracted, I saw my chance. I brought the bow up again and aimed.

_Twang!_ The arrow flew from my new bow and hit its mark. The beast roared out in agony and clutched the gem on its forehead.

Link nodded once to me and pulled again on the chain. Fyrus, which the Elders told us it was called, slipped and fell on its belly. The flames extinguished and Link ran up to the beast's head. He slashed once, twice and three times at the eye before it got up again.

I yelped and had to dodge to the side when molten hot flames tried to get me when the flames came back.

We repeated the process one more time. Just when Link was about to deliver the final blow, the monster swung out towards the side and clipped my leg. I cried out in pain and shock at the sudden loss of strength in my leg. I went crumbling in a heap.

Everything went all blurry. The pain from the slash was pounding in my ears, and I thought I heard a faint growl come from Link and then a deafening roar from the monster. Everything went black.

**AN: Yep. Instead of Link getting hurt in a boss fight (again) it's Terra. Don't think there is any sort of pattern here, because there isn't. Who knows? Maybe I'll make Terra die in the next boss battle! (cackles evilly) **

**Nah, I wouldn't do that. I like Terra. Melissa, however, is completely different.**

**Fyrus is one of my favourite bosses in the game besides Stallord, the Twilight Dragon (forget his name…) and Morpheel. **

**Review! .**


	13. Chillaxation

**AN: You know what's really awesome? This story almost has 50 reviews! At the time of typing, it has 49. Wow. 49 reviews. That's cool...  
**

**Anyway, here is another chapter of Awakening to Hyrule! To those who read The Legend of the Rebel, listen up. I am in the process of making the next chapter, but school (is once again) killing me. You'll just have to wait longer. XD**

**Anyway, Read. **

_**Chapter 13**_

_**Chillaxation**_

I groaned as I opened my eyes. I put my hand to my head, but immediately recoiled when a throbbing pain invaded my right leg.

"Oh. You're up. Are you okay…?" A voice asked.

"Ugh…my….body…..what….happened?" I managed to gasp out. The pain was harsh, and it was slowly growing to occupy other limbs as well.

"Link said that you got…hurt while fighting the monster for the Gorons…" The voice trailed off.

I attempted to open my eyes again, but they just drooped back down to a closed position.

"You need more rest. Tell me if you need anything…"

I heard footsteps slowly fade away, until they were gone. That voice. Who was that?

Oh. It was Colin... I think.

I felt myself drifting off to sleep again. Before I knew what happened, I fell into the world of unconsciousness.

---Time Lapse. A few hours---

I whimpered when Link put another ice pack on my head. He rolled his eyes, and continued to apply pressure to my head.

Earlier on today, Link had forced me to guzzle down five bottles of red potion. Five! I couldn't feel my mouth after.

My leg healed all the way though, and now…it is as good as new. I had a terrible headache though, and the ice pack was the only thing keeping me from taking another trip to the world of pain.

I groaned when Link applied pressure to my head again with the freezing ice pack. Pain…

As soon as it started, the pain stopped. I looked at Link with weak eyes. He just smiled and said something along the lines of my having to get more rest.

I sighed and let my eyes shut on their own. It wasn't long until I was asleep.

---Time Lapse. A few more hours---

"Terra, are you sure you're ready?"

I rolled my eyes at Link's repeated question. He had been asking that for the past half-an-hour. I thought my ears would explode on me.

"Yes Link, I'm fine. We need to get going…" I trailed off when I noticed it was evening.

"We can't, it's evening and you know how dangerous it is at night in Hyrule"

I sighed but nodded anyway, "Yeah…"

Luda piped up from the corner of the room. I jumped; I didn't even know she was there. "There is some hot springs above the inn if you are looking for some relaxation. It does wonders for wounds and stress…" she trailed off and exited the room. I raised an eyebrow. That was weird.

I glanced at Link, who was looking at me again. I glared at him briefly before shaking my head, "I don't do baths or hot springs…"

Link laughed, "You don't 'do'?"

I smiled, "You know it!"

---Time Lapse. Fifteen minutes---

"Now, just step into the water…" Luda trailed off when she saw my face. It was a mixture of disgust, horror, and uncomfortable ness.

Luda rolled her eyes, "Why can't you trust me? If you're worried about Link, I made him busy moving some boxes and helping out with the restoration of the village. You just relax"

I stared suspiciously at her, "No"

Luda grinned, "No?"

"No"

With a rough shove from the girl, I went tumbling in the water. I just had enough time to put my hands out in front of me before I smacked my head up against a rock, scratching my hands in the process.

I glared, "Luda, don't do that"

She smirked, "Why not? It'll be fun!"

She leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "Besides, I think Link'll like it…."

I growled and muttered a few curse words underneath my breath. Luda was not going to leave unless I went in the stupid hot spring.

"Fine," I huffed, "I'll go in. Now go away"

Luda smiled at me one more time before practically skipping away from the scene. I glared at her retreating figure.

I let out a small whimper, as I looked myself over. Somehow, Luda got me into a two-piece swimsuit. It wasn't _that_ revealing…but I still didn't feel comfortable in it. At least it was blue though. I might be able to camouflage in the water.

I whimpered again when cold wind swept across the top half of my body that was out of the almost boiling water.

I heard a gasp come from somewhere and I looked up. I immediately blushed. Link was there, shirtless, in a pair of swimming boxers.

I looked down and growled, "Link…go away. I don't need you to add to the situation"

I heard his footsteps in the water. He was coming closer.

"Link," I raised my voice louder, "Go away"

"What if I don't want to?"

I grumbled something inaudible under my breath and continued to look down into the water.

Link was beside me now, and sunk himself into the water. He sighed in contentment.

I had a feeling…that this was a set-up.

I felt another growl fight its way up my throat, but I swallowed it down.

My eyes started to wander over to his naked torso without my permission and he must have noticed, because he blushed.

"Uhm…Link? When are we…going?"

"What do you mean 'when'? This is our day of relaxation!"

I scoffed, "We are supposed to be heroes. I doubt that heroes can take breaks!"

Link rolled his eyes, "Well, these ones can. Besides, you're still healing from when Fyrus hit you on the leg…" he trailed off, as if reliving a painful memory.

"What happened?" I asked him, now curious what had happened.

Link sighed and explained, "I grabbed your bow from your hands, you were unconscious, and I hit the monster in the eye-gem one last time before making it slam to the floor. With a few more slashes, it was done"

I motioned with my hand for him to continue, "After I defeated Fyrus, a fused shadow appeared out in front of the partridge of the Goron tribe. He didn't seem to remember where he was or what he was doing there"

"Go on…what happened after that?"

He sighed again, "Then Midna warped us out of there and we arrived in the spring. The light spirit Faron spoke to me and told me how to heal your wounds and what we have to do next, and then I carried you over to the inn and let them take care of you"

Silence and then, "Is that it?"

Link nodded, "Pretty much"

"…I see," I mumbled quietly.

"Where is my bow now?" I asked after a moment of silence.

Link rubbed his chin in thought before responding, "I put it by your bed in the inn. It is probably still there."

"Okay. What about the Gale Boomerang? Is that with it too?"

Link nodded, "Yeah"

Silence rang in our ears for sometime after that. I assumed Link was lost in his thoughts, probably about what he had to do next. I didn't know what was in for us, but I decided not to push it. After all, we haven't had any time to ourselves ever since this adventure started.

I don't want to make an ass out of you and me, get it? Assume? Anyway, but I think that Link's thoughts are focusing around Ilia and if she is okay. I hope she is okay too; I actually started to consider her as a friend.

I heard Link sigh from beside me and I heard the water rippling and rustling around his body. I realized he was getting up. I looked at him, and that was true. He yawned and stretched his arms to the sky before letting them fall back down. He grinned and looked at me, "Come on, and get up"

I muttered a curse, but I stayed where I was. Link smirked, "Come _on!_ You don't want to miss what's coming next!"

I raised an eyebrow. What was coming next?

"What's up?"

Link's expression turned into one of confusion, "err…the sky?"

I snorted but explained, "No, no, no. In my world, that is an expression. It means…'how are you' or 'what's going on'…"

"Oh. Well, I'm doing good and…you'll just have to wait and see. Come on! Hurry up and get dressed. Meet me outside the inn when you are done"

I rolled my eyes, but nodded anyway.

---Time Lapse. A few minutes later---

When I was finally out of that horrifying swimsuit, I waited for Link in front of the inn. I strapped my bow to my back and I put the new quiver on. I put the old quiver on my hip, now empty of arrows. I had already transferred the wooden arrows to the new quiver and was going to see if I could sell the old quiver to Malo.

Link finally came up to me with a huge smile on his face. He opened his hand to reveal a little bag. He grinned happily, "This is a bomb bag. We can finally have bombs!"

I rolled my eyes at Link's enthusiasm. Great. Another toy for him to play with.

And I thought the slingshot was bad, at least you couldn't blow stuff up with it.

"Link," I asked, "I'm going to sell this to Malo…okay?" I held up the old quiver for him to see, "I'll be right back. Stay here." I grinned when Link let out a small groan like a little child.

---Time Lapse. A few minutes---

I managed to sell my old quiver for fifty rupees at Malo Mart. Hm…not too shabby, considering I don't _have any rupees_!

I smiled one last time at the purple rupee before tucking it into the pouch on my side. I found a new place for the Gale's Boomerang. I put it on my left hip, where the old quiver was, for easy access. I had made a little pocket for it too while I was recovering. It wasn't anything fancy, but it got the job done.

I mounted Epona behind Link and he spurred Epona on towards Kakariko Gorge. He spotted a few rocks, and his eyes lit up with joy. I just rolled my eyes. Oh brother…

---Time Lapse. A few hours---

"Wow! That was awesome! Did you see how I took that giant skulltula?" Link bragged to me again. I rolled my eyes, "Yes. I saw. That's good"

During the past couple of hours, we have been…well….blowing up stuff. We encountered a few caves, which we explored and got a few hundred rupees out of it too. I managed to get a share, since I did my own share of killing today.

Right now, we were in the inn after a long afternoon of fighting. Link ordered something that tasted like Chinese food, which I like, so I happily gobbled it down. Link just rolled his eyes and ate like a normal person. The inn was under repair, but we got our own room… which was good. Too bad Link still had to be in _my_ room.

When we were done our food, it was now the time to see who would get the bed for tonight. As I figured, Link insisted that I would get the bed.

I rolled my eyes, "No Link. I got the bed last time, it's your turn"

Link held out his hands in front of him and protested, "No. You're a lady, and ladies always get the bed!"

I glared, "Is that what this is about? I'm not weak you know. I can take care of myself!"

Link, fearing that he had angered me, spoke softly, "Sorry if I offended you, but that is the tradition around here. Ladies always get the bed if there is only one"

I huffed and crossed my arms, "Well, Link. This time," I paused. "Tradition changes. Get in the bed. Now"

Link moaned playfully and I punched him somewhat roughly on the arm. He plopped himself on the bed, while I settled down on the somewhat comfortable floor. At least it was carpeted for my turn…

"Terra…tomorrow we will have to continue on our journey" Link stated, somewhat randomly. I nodded from my place on the floor.

"Yeah. I know. Today was fun though."

I heard a faint mumble come from Link's general direction, and soon after (and by soon, I mean a few seconds) Link was snoring softly. I giggled quietly. Boys will be boys.

I smiled as I drifted off to sleep, wondering what tomorrow would bring us. I hoped it was some more of that Chinese-ish food. That stuff was good.

**AN: Yeah. This was just a filler chapter this time around. Don't worry, next chapter they will be sucked into Twilight again and they will have to get all the bugs, and will eventually lead to the 'convoy' part of the game, another jousting battle, the water temple, then the master sword….**

**Yeah. I'll stop now. We still have a LONG way to go. Hence why I'm making every second chapter or so a filler or a semi-filler. I mean, not **_**all**_** of the journey can just be traveling and dungeon-crawling, ya know? There has to be some fun and enjoyment in it, right? XD**

**Anyway, I'll seriously stop rambling on now. Just **_**review**_**, will ya? **


	14. Journey Through Lanayru Province

**AN: Yep. It's me again. Oh joy. XD**

**Here is another chapter. As I promised last chapter, they will finally go into Twilight again. Whoo…**

**I can't believe this is already chapter 14 though. Oh well. This story will probably be over 30 chapters anyways. Actually, that is extremely likely. XD**

**There is a bit of a time lapse at the beginning of this chapter. Link and Terra are already in Twilight, and had already freed the Zoras. Why did I skip that part? There are many reasons, but the only one that I want to mention is: **

**I don't like the Zoras. **

**Anyway, Read. Remember, there is a time skip in this one. Read a few paragraphs up if you skipped most of the author's note.**

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Journey Through Lanayru Province**_

I was still terrified of Link, and I didn't know why. There was something about him that…just made me want to run away from him. I never felt that way when I was a human, so I didn't understand.

We had just got the first few Twilight Insects, after freeing the Zoras from their ice prison in Lanayru Province.

The Twilight-bird just dropped off in Upper-Zora's River, where the water was now flowing strongly.

I never want to be on one of those things again. While Link was in the thing's talons, I was forced to somehow stay on its back behind Midna. I figured Midna would help break the wind for me, but she was so small. She didn't do much. I almost fell off a few times. We also had to kill a few Twilight Insects too, so that made my experience even worse. Not to mention we had to dodge bomb arrows and falling rocks…

That would explain why I was panting when I practically jumped off the Twilight bird after we arrived in the upper part of the Zora River.

Link asked me once again, "Ter, are you _sure_ you're alright? We can stop for a break if you want…"

I snorted and shook my head side to side. I swear, that guy worries too much.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little…shaken up"

"About wh-" He cut himself off and looked at me worriedly. He continued, "Oh. About that ride on the bird, huh?"

I nodded softly, still scared by what happened.

To my surprise, Link rubbed his flank up against mine to comfort me. I could feel his rough course fur scrape against my soft coat. It felt-

I shook my head from those thoughts and walked forward. Wasn't I scared of him two seconds ago?

Link barked, "Hey, where are you going?"

I grunted and looked back at him. He was just standing there. "We have to save this place from Twilight. Let's hurry up. Besides, you want to get to Ilia…don't you?"

Link nodded and trotted up next to me, "Yeah. You're right. Let's continue on"

The blue-eyed beast walked forwards, and I followed into step behind him.

We eventually killed all of the bugs, except for one in the middle of the lake. Midna was confused at that. So was I. Link probably had no idea what was going on either.

Link glanced at me with his blue feral eyes before continuing on. I shook my head and tried to get rid of a shiver that went up my spine. That look scared me.

I couldn't help but let out a small whimper and followed him. He didn't notice.

---Time Lapse. Ten Minutes---

We had finally reached a bunch of rickety floating boards in the middle of the lake. I yelped as the crates around us began to shake and shudder. The water started to bubble and boil. Link growled from beside me. The hairs of the back on my neck stood up and I started snarling feriously at the air, still waiting for the beast to show its face.

All of a sudden, a massive electrical discharge zoomed at both Link and me. We dodged it just in time. My ears twitched forwards, I narrowed my eyes, and I sniffed the air.

Link followed my example, and I yelped at what I saw.

The first thing I noticed was its colour. It was purple. The monster was huge and looked like a giant bug. No, correction. It _was_ a giant bug.

The giant bug started to aggressively attack both Link and me. It charged us and tried to zap us with the electricity flowing through it. Link and I just jumped to a different platform and avoided the attack.

As soon as the bug stopped to take a quick breather, Link doubled back and latched onto the beast's disgusting belly. He started gnawing away at one of its stumpy tendrils. It burst into thick white goo that propelled the monster backwards over the water again.

Link let out a disgusted noise at the thick white…syrup and I dashed over to his platform to help him.

At this moment, the monster decided to take advantage of our distraction by charging us again. Link shoved me out of the way just in time but barely managed to dodge the attack again.

I bared my teeth and snarled at the monster, while Link attacked it again in the same fashion.

Instead of charging us again however, the giant flying purple people eater (AN: I couldn't resist! XD) emitted a weird noise and started circling our platform under the water. Electricity was coming out in bursts on the monster, but it wasn't affecting the water. Maybe it was a different kind of electricity?

The beast surprised me by laying belly up in the water. I glanced at Link and he gave the tiniest of nods. We both sprinted towards the beast and landed on its stomach. It didn't move. It was playing dead. With a few quick swipes by our claws and a few more bites from our sharp teeth, the creature burst into the last Tear of Light.

The last Tear of Light flew towards me and got sucked into the Vessel of Light that was around my neck. Link and I started glowing a light blue before everything turned black.

---Scene Change. Wow. I've never done one of these in a while---

I moaned as a bright light hit my closed eyelids.

"It seems like she is finally coming around, Hero…" A voice stated.

"Yeah. Terra, are you okay?" I recognized the second voice as Link.

I slowly opened my eyes and found myself face to face with the last light spirit, Lanayru.

I managed to gasp out, "What….what happened? How long was I out?"

Link sighed, "You passed out while we were being brought back to our human forms. You were only out for a few hours this time…"

Wait a minute. This time? I thought I was only out for a few hours last time? What really happened? Before, I had a feeling that people were hiding things from me. This just confirmed my suspicions.

I narrowed my eyes at Link and was about to ask him what really happened when Fyrus hit me when Link spoke up again. Nervousness was clearly in his voice, "We can talk about that later, Terra. This is important. Let's just listen to Lanayru, okay?"

I let out a sigh and nodded.

I squinted my eyes to see through the blinding light. I faintly saw the outline of a serpent-like creature, but I couldn't see any details. My eyesight apparently isn't as good as Hylians' eyesight. After all, I am only a Human Being.

Lanayru sighed and spoke up, "This one is different. Like the other light spirits, I sense a power within her. I am not sure what the power is though. Only that it will be useful in the future"

I turned my attention so it was fully on the Light Spirit. It growled sadly, "You heroes must know what you are building. You are building an artifact of evil. An artifact of destruction that was sealed away by the will of the gods. Let me show you the history of Hyrule and the sealing of this evil power…" A bright flash of light followed.

I found myself floating in a world beside Link. I looked around and raised an eyebrow in confusion. We were just…floating there. In the darkness. In nothingness.

I heard Lanayru's voice and a series of images flashed before my eyes. "When all was chaos, the goddesses descended and gave order and life to the world" A blur of green, red and blue light zoomed past Link and I.

"They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to

the heavens. The lands where the goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm. For ages, the people lived at ease, content in mind and body." The spirit let this sink in before continuing, " But soon, word of the Sacred Realm spread through Hyrule, and a great battle ensued" Another pause, " Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared. Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm. It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene" Three balls of light appeared over the full fused shadow, sinking it back into the green plain that was before us.

"We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered.

You know this magic. It is the dark power you seek...the Fused Shadow.

O heroes chosen by the goddesses. Beware. Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it" He paused, probably to take a breath, and continued, "Never forget that. The dark power that you seek is sleeping within Lakebed Temple in Lake Hylia. Good luck, Heroes of Twilight…"

The light spirit, Lanayru, disappeared in a flash of bright yellow light.

Link and I looked at each other. I knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to see Ilia, and I had no choice but to follow him.

---Scene Change. Time Lapse too, obviously.---

We were now in Hyrule Castle Town, and Link was walking quickly towards Telma's bar. I had to jog and push through crowds of people in order to keep up with him. I couldn't blame him. I mean, Ilia is a good friend of his, so he would naturally make sure that she is okay.

We entered Telma's bar. The door creaked in protest. I glared at it for making noise. It didn't make any more noise after that.

The first person I spotted was a pointy nosed old man with huge (and funny) looking glasses who grumbled, "That is a Zora child! That is beyond my expertise!"

Ilia gasped and ran up to meet the doctor, "Doctor, wait! If something isn't done, this child will-" She got cut off. The doctor was already out of the door.

Ilia glanced up at us. Link smiled his goofy grin again, and I just grinned kindly. There was no flash of recognition in her eyes. Link made a step towards her, but she had already turned and was walking back towards Telma.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust as soon as I saw the bartender. The only thing wrong about her outfit…was that it was too revealing. She had a yellow frilly bra underneath her shirt, which was halfway unbuttoned.

I scoffed. I knew what type of person she was.

Telma spoke, "Well, this isn't good. A human doctor won't do, huh. That old coot reminded me, though. I've heard of a shaman in Kakariko Village, in the Eldin lands, who's tended Gorons and Zoras"

Ilia gasped, "Is that true? Perhaps if we take him there-" she was cut off by a Hylian solider.

"Inadvisable! Too dangerous! But we can't turn a blind eye to a pretty girl in need, either" Link tensed. I put my hand on his shoulder comfortingly. He calmed down somewhat, but still seemed tense. "Yes, we'd better escort you! Am I right, boys?!" The group of seven soldiers cheered and raised their spears.

Telma smiled, "Well, isn't that nice. To reach Kakariko, we've got to cross two plains that are each infested by dangerous beasts.

But we'll be safe now!"

The cheering of the soldiers died down at the mention of monsters. They scurried out of the door, leaving only Link and I.

Telma scowled and put her hands on her hips, and yelled at the now-closed door, "Cowards! Don't EVER show your faces here again!" She raised an eyebrow when she saw Link and I standing just to the side of the door. I beamed at the attention, while Link just turned his gaze towards the ground. "Oh my!" She exclaimed, turning towards Ilia, "Looks like we've got one young archer and swordsman left! And not only that, but it looks like this brave young man and woman will escort us, so get ready to go, honey. Pronto!" Ilia nodded eagerly and ran somewhere to get ready.

Telma turned towards us and spoke in a hushed voice, "You two know that girl, don't you?" Link and I both nodded.

The bartender continued, "It's a real shame. She can't even remember her own name right now." Link gasped at this but I stayed quiet.

"Bless her heart, though. She found this poor boy," she gestured to the barely-breathing Zora lying on a blanket on a few boxes, "collapsed in the road, so she did all she could to save him." Telma paused to glare at the door again where the Hylian soldiers left a moment before, " More courage in that girl than in all the soldiers of Hyrule, for sure! You lend your strength to her, you two hear me?"

Link and I nodded again, and Ilia came down the stairs with a few belongings in hand.

I sighed deeply and followed Link, Telma and Ilia out of the bar. I had no clue how we were going to pull this off.

**AN: Yep. I'm evil. I made a cliffhanger **_**right**_** before they start the escorting part. Isn't that evil of me:P**

**Again, I used my guidebook and the game script (on gamefaqs somewhere…) for this one. I added and switched around a few words that Telma said for Terra's sake though. **

**I found the whole scene where the soldiers run out of the bar to be funny in the game. The first time I saw it, I swear I didn't stop laughing for five minutes. **

**Yeah, I know. I'm weird like that. XD**

**Review please, though. I would like to see how you guys liked this chapter, considering I skipped most of the Twilight part. I'm just not in the mood for writing stuff like that right now. I might go back and fix it later though. Keyword is **_**might**_

…**Review! **


	15. Through Explorations and Saving the Zora

**AN: Before you read, I would like to bring this to your attention. I just got my first flame for this story. The anoymonous user called himself/herself 'Ami'. Could somebody **_**please**_** tell this person that a mary-sue is actually a perfect character that has no flaws what so ever…? I got yelled at by him/her for making a mary-sue. If you ask me, Terra is anything but perfect. **

**Since that was only a pointless flame, and nothing else…updates will continue to come! I mean, really, if he/she didn't like mary-sues, they shouldn't have clicked on the story! It says 'LinkOC' right there in the description. Geeze, people these days…**

**I deleted that review though, because it was stupid and immature. **

**Ahem, sorry. I'll stop now. I refuse to get rallied up by only a stupid flamer. **

**Oh. Here's some news. I got up a story for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. So, if you like that game, check it out. It's in my profile. It has major spoilers for the end though.**

**This is the chapter of the escorting mission. I don't want to do the lakebed temple right now, so once again…it is going to be delayed for next chapter. **

**Oh. And I don't know if you guys care or not…but on Monday is Thanksgiving. Yes. You heard me. Thanksgiving. Canada has Thanksgiving in October…where it **_**should**_** be. XD So….Happy Thanksgiving! .**

**Anyway, I'll shut up now and let you guys read. **

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Thorough Explorations and Saving the Zora Prince**_

Epona whinnied in excitement as Link urged her into a trot alongside the cart with Ilia and the Zora Prince. Telma was 'driving' it. I felt sorry for that poor black horse being at the end of her whips.

We were escorting Telma, Ilia and the injured Zora to Kakariko Village, where he will hopefully be healed. We had to travel through the Faron portion of Hyrule Field, and that meant going across the Lake Hylia Bridge where King Bublin was patrolling.

How was he still alive?

I was forced out of my thoughts when Epona came to a sudden stop. We were at the beginning of the bridge, with King Bublin on the other side. They were going to joust, and I was still on Epona!

I made a move to get off, but Link stopped me and said, "No. Stay here, I have a feeling I will need you for this. He has armor on the sides, so I think you have to peg him with an arrow or two"

I squinted my eyes and peered into the darkness, how could he see that far?

Must be a Hylian thing.

I had to hold on to Link's waist as Epona reared up and started to canter towards King Bublin – where his mount was doing the same thing. I regained my composure and quickly took out my bow. I fumbled with an arrow, successfully dropping it. I cursed and we both had to duck when we passed the charging enemy. That axe **(1) **would have beheaded us if we wouldn't have ducked!

Link cursed and turned Epona around quickly. Once again, I had to hold on tightly to Links waist, but I could only do it with one hand because my bow was in the other.

I knew I wasn't blushing, because this was in a dangerous situation. I would most likely blush later though.

Link urged Epona into a canter again and I reached for another arrow. I bit my lip and tried to hold onto it, but it slipped out of my grasp again and clattered to the stone flying below us. I glanced up and noticed that I had just enough time to fire another shot.

I reached into my quiver again and pulled out another arrow. I nocked it and fired. I cursed when it went wide to the left.

Link had to turn sharply to the right in order to avoid the swinging axe from King Bublin.

Epona whinnied in protest but obeyed, just barely missing the sharp edge of the axe that whistled by.

Once again, we had to turn around quickly. Link pulled up sharply on Epona's reins, causing her to rear up. He urged her to turn around, and she obeyed.

Link spurred his steed into a gallop this time, and I had to work quicker to get an arrow ready.

I chewed the inside of my lip in nervousness and aimed at the quickly approaching figure charging towards us. I let go of the arrow and it hit King Bubin's mount. I actually meant to hit the green monster, and not the blue one…but that worked well enough anyway.

The mount squealed like a pig in pain and tripped over its own feet, causing it and King Bublin to go over the edge of the bridge and into Lake Hylia.

It wasn't long for the cart to come trotting up to Link and I in the middle of the bridge. Telma smiled, "Good work, guys. Let's continue on." She turned around and whipped the black horse and it started cantering again.

We continued to protect the cart along the way. I shot down the Bulblin archers from ontop of the the cliff faces flanking us on both sides. That was important, because they were firing arrows that were on fire at the cart.

A couple of times, I had to use the Gale's Boomerang to put out the blazing cart, but we always recovered and continued on our way.

Link and I discovered the hard way what would happen when a bomb exploded near the wagon. The black horse neighed in panic and veered off sharply towards the left from the bomb. We had to defend it from more bombs and the continuous amount of boar riders until it could get back on the path again, which took a few minutes of calming the horse by Telma and cursing from me and Link.

When we finally got to Kakariko Village, Link and I dismounted the tired and sweaty Epona. I was panting from exhaustion and so was Link. Who ever knew that riding a horse and using a bow would be so hard?

We followed Telma and Ilia (who was carrying the unconscious Zora) into the inn.

Renado gazed upon us and gasped. He hurried us in and slammed the inn door shut behind us. He quickly took the Zora from Iila's hands and rushed up the steps towards the beds. I looked around and noticed that they fixed the place up. I grinned and I saw Link smile slightly from the corner of my eye.

A few minutes later, Renado came walking out of the bedroom where he put the Zora and called down to us, "I have to heal him and it will take awhile, so why don't you guys relax? I'll call you when the worst is over…"

---Time Lapse. A few hours later. Cause I'm lazy that way---

"...He has passed through the worst of it. As long as he rests, he should recover in due time" Renado started as Link, Iila, and I walked into the small room. Telma was downstairs doing something that I didn't care about.

Renado sighed, "Do you know the fate of his mother?" he paused and looked at both of us. Ilia stood there, waiting for an answer.

Seeing that we weren't comfortable about answering, Renado continued. "Her welfare consumes him. He has been mumbling deliriously about her almost constantly..."

He trailed off and saw my gaze turn to the floor. Link's gaze went there also. He sighed, "I can see the knowledge grieves you. It must be an awful memory"

Link sighed from beside me, "It is a horrible memory…" I nodded slightly in agreement, my gaze still plastered to my feet.

"I'll stay with him until he's better! No matter how long it takes!" I jumped when Colin's voice came from the room. I didn't even notice he was there. Link snickered and I grumbled something under my breath.

Renado looked and the child and smiled warmly, "Is that so? Thank you, Colin."

The brave child looked at Link and asked, "Hey, Link, about Ilia…" he trailed off, not sure how to ask the question. He apparently made up his mind though, because he continued a few seconds later. "Is it true, what they say about her?"

Link opened his mouth to reply, but Renado beat him to it. "Yes, she has lost her memory, Colin, and regaining it will be no simple task." A pause, "But it will be all right, child. If we just give her some time, I am certain that Ilia will find her heart again. So, Colin, I'd like to ask you to stay in this village until then. It is our turn to show the courage that you have already displayed"

When we left the room, Renado needed to do some extra healing on the Zora Prince, we found Telma outside leaning on the wooden railing of the porch.

"Nice to see there's still hope here. And it's always good to see happy results repay your efforts..." she trailed off and glanced at both of us. "Those skills of yours... Any chance you're of the mind to put them to use for Hyrule?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but Link spoke first. "Uh…sure"

I rolled my eyes at Link's pathetic response. Telma didn't seem amused though, "What hope there is in our kingdom is frail and dying...but there's still a group trying to do what it can.I'm a member of that group. I may just stay here a bit longer. I'm still worried about Ilia" She stopped again to take a breath, "Link and Terra, I want to see you two again at my bar, you hear me? The bar is actually a kind of safe house for my friends. There's a passageway that leads to the castle from in there, as well. If you ever need something, stop by, I'll be waiting for you, honeys!"

She approached the cart and got on, "I don't need your help this time around, I can move faster when I don't have a load in the back…" She whipped the horse and it trotted forward. I watched it go in slight sadness, but shook it off.

Link turned to me and grinned, "I'm tired, let's go inside and get some shut-eye"

I nodded tiredly and yawned, Link snickered from in front of me and I hit him playfully on the arm.

**AN: Yeah. This ended suddenly. I don't want to do the Lakebed temple, so don't expect the next update to be speedy, eh? I will probably just fly through it and only give detail about the boss fights…**

**Oh. Here's a little poll, because I don't know what to do. Who do you guys think should get the clawshot? Link or Terra? **

**(1): I'm not sure if King Bublin has an axe this time around, but in my story...he does. XD**

**Anyway, Review! .**


	16. Desperate Hours

**AN: Okay. The votes are in. Link won the vote by one. I would have picked him anyways, because Terra has been getting all of the new weapons thus far. Oh. Before I forget. I conjured up an evil method for avoiding the Lakebed Temple. You'll see. (cackles)**

**Oh. And this chapter would have been up sooner, but we had a major thunderstorm two nights ago. It happened on October 6****th**** at midnight (So technically, it was Oct. 7****th****….but whatever. XD) and it lasted until 3:00am. Yep. I stayed up that long. It was the most…ferocious and terrible storm we have ever had around here. The power went out (only on our street, go figure) and lightning was constantly flashing and making the dark night into day for a brief millisecond. One even struck just outside out house (We think it hit a power line, and that is what caused our power to run out…) It was awesome, I love storms! As long as you don't get struck, that is. O.o  
**

**But, whatever. You guys probably don't care. I will shut up now and let you read.**

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Desperate Hours**_

I gasped when Link came back with a blue garment folded neatly his hands. It was beautiful. He held out the outfit in front of him and grinned, "How does it look?"

I nodded in approval. I looked the armor over. The torso was covered in grey Zora scales, and there was sort of a helmet to cover most of his face. The outfit still had the floppy cap and it had skin-tight blue leggings.

Link held the armor close to him and pulled out something from a pouch at his side.

I gasped in awe at it.

He held out a shimmering crest of the Zoras. I knew what it was, because I watched my friends play Ocarina of Time, but I never played a Zelda game myself.

It was Zora's Sapphire, and it was attached to a sparkling silver chain that went around Link's neck. Like the name implies, it had three sapphires in the set with a golden sheen to the curved and beautiful set. He saw me gaze at it, open mouthed, before handing it to me. I recoiled and held up my hands as if he just insulted me.

"No, no, no, Link. I can't take that. It's yours."

The man rolled his eyes, "I saw you looking at it. You want it. Go ahead and take it"

"N-" He interrupted me.

"Besides, it will get all dirty, scratched and probably broken if I bring it into the temple with me"

He held it out to me again, and I sighed, taking it from his hands.

I gently placed it over my head and onto my neck. A perfect fit. Link grinned.

It registered and I cast Link a suspicious look. What did he mean?

"What do you mean, Link. You mean that…I won't be going to the next temple with you?"

The smile faded from Link's face and he shook his head, "I can't let you come with me. I have a nagging and annoying feeling that this dungeon is going to be really hard and really dangerous. Sorry, but…you can't come"

I groaned, "But I _want _to come!"

Link frowned and shook his head again, "No. and that's final. I also want you to wait in Castle Town for me" he hesitated, "And…if I don't come back in 24 hours, you can come and find me."

---Time Lapse. 6 hours later. Because I'm lazy like that.---

I sighed in frustration during my frantic pacing in one of the dark alleyways. Why am I pacing?

Because, Link left a few hours ago and he isn't back yet. Granted, this dungeon might be longer and harder…but still. He should be back by now.

I chewed the inside of my lip and continued to pace. Night fell an hour ago, but I haven't been able to sleep. I have been worrying. Oh why didn't I fight more and made Link let me come? He would have given up sooner or later!

Sighing in frustration again, I walked towards the pretty fountain in the middle of the town. I sat down on the ledge and shivered as the bitter night air nipped at my exposed neck. I fingered the Zora's Sapphire necklace that I got from Link before he left. I still thought that he should have it, but I didn't want it to get ruined so I accepted it.

I didn't know how long I was out there, but I was surprised when I heard soft footsteps. I growled quietly, took the bow from my back and drew an arrow and put it in place. I aimed where I thought I heard the sound come from.

I heard a rough bark come from in front of me and I stood my ground, thinking that a Stalhound, which was an undead wolf, had somehow found its way into the town. My fingers instinctively tightened around the bow and arrow, and I almost let it loose by accident.

When the figure came into full view, I raised an eyebrow slightly and let my shoulders relax. It was only Link. But why was he in his wolf form? What happened?

He trotted up towards me and nudged me with his snout; I hit his nose playfully causing him to recoil slightly.

I gasped when I saw what was on its back. It was Midna. Or at least, I _think_ it was Midna. It was white and purple, but Midna was black and grayish. The figure on top of Link weakly spoke, "Ter…r…a….Plea…please….Princess….Zelda…."

Yep. This was Midna for sure. What's going on? What happened?

Link whimpered in panic and I scratched behind his ears distractedly, trying to figure out what to do. I couldn't sneak past the guards, it would be too dangerous. And they wouldn't let a stranger, a wolf and a strange dying creature into the castle to see the Princess either.

My eyes lit up and I carefully picked up Midna from Link's back.

I motioned Link to follow me. He panted, probably for exhaustion, and followed me closely.

I remembered what Telma said back at Kakariko Village. She said that the bar lead to a secret passageway to the castle.

When we arrived in the little alcove just before Telma's bar, a white Persian cat meowed and startled me.

I put a hand to my heart and glared at the cat. Stupid thing, it scared the crap out of me.

Not literally, of course, but still.

The cat blinked at me before meowing something to Link, who barked urgently in response. I raised an eyebrow, is that what we looked like talking to each other?

…Weird. That's the last time I'm speaking to any animal outside of my species.

I guess a wolf is okay though, because it is close to the coyote in many ways.

The white fluffy cat continued to talk and directed its head at me. Link prodded over and nudged me rather roughly with his snout, I looked down at him and he barked. What did he just say?

"He…said…that…you…n...need...to...give…me…back…to…to…hi…him" The imp managed to gasp out and I felt a pang of sorrow. Even though I didn't really like her, I still feel bad whenever one of my friends gets hurt. I guess I considered her a friend, then.

I nodded slightly and gently placed the now-white and semi-purple imp back on the wolf's back. I frowned at the sight of Midna; I really didn't like how she looked.

Midna managed a tiny smile, "Don't….worry…..we…..will….b…..b…..be…..back"

I nodded and watched as Link climbed up a few crates and into the window of Telma's bar. I didn't know what he was doing, but that cat must have told him something, because he seemed really confident what he was doing.

I sighed and walked back to the fountain, ready to wait a few more hours for Link to come back. Hopefully, he would come back as a human this time.

**AN: Muwhahaha. Yes. I am evil. XD**

**The truth will be revealed as to why Terra is scared of Link while they both are in their animal forms eventually. Meanwhile, you guys can guess as to why or yell at me to tell you. You are going to have to wait either way though. **

**Yes, I know why, and another person knows the reason too. (I am keeping the identity of said person a secret so that you don't go bugging him/her either. XD)**

**Anyway… **

**Review! .**


	17. Sniffing Out the Sword

**AN: Okay. This sucks. I got a reviewer (read it yourself) giving me a whole bunch of stuff to fix in this story. I don't mind the reviewer, in fact, I thanked him or her for her/his time but the REAL question is…**

**Why didn't you guys TELL me that my story had so many…flaws in it? I am not going to sum up the review here; you will have to read it over yourself. It's a big review, so you can't miss it. **

**I can't get better with just getting nice, fluffy reviews. I just…can't. With this one review, I most certainly can. I discovered that my story has a whole bunch of plot holes, and problems. You guys can tell me if the story is getting boring, but just don't flame please.**

**Oh, and don't expect this story to follow Twilight Princess' storyline completely, eh? I've told you guys I am going to make some changes, but I'm not sure if these changes are too…drastic or not. **

**There is a minor time lapse in this chapter at the beginning. Terra and Link are now in the Sacred Grove. Remember, Link is still in his wolf form. Oh. And in my story, there is no skull kid (I found that part to be dumb) there will be other tests that they have to go through though. And I made up a new enemy… score! Oh yeah, I own that. XD**

**Oh. And to avoid any problems in the future, Peach the Hedgehog is my official beta reader! Thanks a bunch! That means, she gets to read the chapters a day or two ahead of time! You guys should have volunteered…XD**

_**Chapter 17**_

_**Sniffing out the Sword**_

We entered the foggy and vast mysterious forest. I narrowed my eyes warily and followed Link through the first chamber. I took out my bow, put an arrow in place, and held it in the ready position just in case.

Link trotted on ahead of me, with Midna stretching out on his back. I stopped and my jaw dropped in sheer awe at an aged tree in front of me.

To mine, Link's and Midna's surprise…it started to talk, "Hello, strangers. My name is the Great Deku Tree. I used to be the guardians of the Kokiri before they all got cursed into skull kids.

Link cocked in head in confusion and waddled over to me, who now had my bow raised and pointing at the tree. It didn't seem to mind. It was a tree, after all.

"Now, let me tell thee about the Kokiri and what connection they had with the Legendary Hero…" it trailed off, as if to think.

I glanced at Link to see that he was sitting on the ground waiting patiently for the talking tree to continue. What was his name? Oh yeah. Great Deku Tree.

The tree took a deep breath, which caused a few of its branches to shake and leaves to fall off, before continuing, "The kikori were a sheltered race. They were a race of children that could never grow up, and they were 'born' through me…the guardian of the kokori.

The Legendary Hero – The Hero of Time – grew up in the forest of the Kokiri and had always thought that he was one of them"

There was a short pause before the booming voice coming from the withered tree spoke again, "The Hero of Time had to go through many dungeons – like you two are – and had to solves many puzzles and mysteries. He had to cross endless black pits, blazing lava rivers, and the roaring desert during his journey"

I blinked a few times, and Link barked in understanding.

The Deku Tree sighed again, "Yes. When he found out he was not a kokiri, it was just after his fourth Trial or dungeon, if you will. To summarize it, the Hero of Time sealed away Ganondorf forever. Or so it was thought…" The voice faded away into the forest and made me pout. I wanted to hear more!

Link turned towards me and barked in urgency, but Midna just rolled her eyes. "Well, that was interesting…wasn't it, Terra? Let's go find that sword!"

--Time Lapse. (You knew I was going to do it, didn't ya?) An hour later---

Sometime later found us in an empty room. Yes. Empty room. In a forest.

You've got that right.

For some odd reason, there was a shack in the middle of a clearing and Link wanted to check it out. I rolled my eyes; I highly doubted that a sacred sword would be stashed _in a dusty, old shed!_

Link trotted up to the shed, with Midna yawning in boredom on his back. I shrugged and trailed behind and watched as Link sniffed around the shack.

He growled when he nose reached a spot in the shed and I raised an eyebrow. The wolf took a few steps back and continued to growl. I could clearly see the fur on his neck bristling and the drool coming out of his canine mouth. I cringed. That's gross.

I brought my bow up and aimed, not having to put an arrow in, because I did that before we went in the Sacred Grove. Oddly enough, I didn't even have to fire one arrow…and that scared me. Wouldn't there be…you know…protection for this special sword?

My question was answered by an earth-shattering…squeak?

Out of the shed came a porcupine. A rather large porcupine, larger than Link, with razor-sharp teeth and an appetite for flesh.

Link cowered away from it, which made me scoff in response. I aimed down the sight of my bow again before letting the arrow go. To my surprise, it just bounced off the quills.

I shouldn't have done that. The mutant turned its piercing eyes towards me and a series of clicks came out of its mouth again. Oh. I think I just made it angry.

The monster curled up into a ball and started rolling towards me, Goron style. But except this was a rather large porcupine with sharp quills that I would prefer to _not_ get in the way of.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Link jump towards the creature and pursued after it. I was frozen to the spot. The wolf barked urgently, probably trying to get me to move.

I winced. I tried to move but my legs wouldn't obey. I was rooted to the spot, and only continued to stare at the thundering mass quickly approaching me.

I took out an arrow from the quiver strapped to my back again, and very slowly put it in place in bow. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I brought the bow up and closed one eye to aim. I bit my lip and fired.

**AN: Yep. I am evil. Sorry this chapter came out so late (and short) but…I ran out of ideas halfway, and I didn't want to wait for help. Granted, I didn't make myself available for help this weekend…but still. Here's your chapter, now review. :P**


	18. Arbiter's Grounds

**AN: I've got a good excuse for not updating in so long. First of all, I am still a bit sore about…well….read last chapter's author's note if you forgot about it. I don't want to repeat it. Second of all...writer's block...and laziness. Yeah. The usual excuses, I know. :P  
**

**Enough with my whining. You guys just want to get on with the story, don't cha? **

**This chapter was beta read by PTH. Thanks for that! **

**Oh. Kinda important that you read this part. This chapter SKIPS AHEAD a bit. You'll see how far. Why? Because I'm am utterly lazy, writer's block, and I just don't want to write the scene with the Master Sword. Terra will explain what will happen though.**

**ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE!: To those who read 'Rebel', you may have noticed that in my….third last chapter (I think?) I put 'Terra' in there as one of my names. After careful consideration, I have decided that BOTH MELISSA AND TERRA DO NOT KNOW EACH OTHER! THAT IS A DIFFERENT TERRA!**

**There we go. Now, with that off my chest….read.**

**Disclaimer: You know what I own and don't own, guys**_**. I would only like to mention that I own ANY ideas, any description changes in this story. Anybody who steals them will be beat in the face with a gravity hammer in Halo 3**_** (You know the one. I call it the ban hammer. XD)**

_**Chapter 18**_

_**Arbiter's Grounds**_

_Shing! _Link withdrew the Master Sword from its scabbard. I followed his example, only with my bow and without that sound, and readied an arrow. We both looked at each other before nodding at almost the exact same time and walked into the Arbiter's Grounds.

It was dark. No. It was worse than dark. I am too lazy to think up another synonym, but you get the point.

The first thing I saw (besides blackness) was a long corridor with jail cells on both sides. Well, that wasn't surprising. Midna did say that it was a prison for bad guys, after all.

I suppose I should fill you in on what happened in that battle, eh? Well, too bad for you. I would rather not repeat the battle.

When Link approached the Master Sword in his wolf form, the Master Sword forced him out of it using some sort of magic. After Link drew the sword from its old and deteriorating pedestal, Midna got our attention. In her hand, was this floating black and orange artifact. To me, it looked like something out of a cheesy horror film, but Link could sense that it had great power. The imp had explained to us that we can use Zant's power against him by securing the artifact to any part of our body, and it would turn us into our respective forms. The only catch, was that only one of us could transform at a time. Why? Because there was only one crystal-thing, duh.

We traveled to a vast desert, which took us a couple of days alone. We barely made it though the desert and had to plough through a group of moblins on boar back. We infiltrated their base and got a sweet new weapon. A flail. How cool is that? Unfortunately, I couldn't even lift it up…so Link got to carry it. Damn him. He got to keep the clawshot too, which was in the Water Temple when Link made me stay behind.

Which brings us back to the present. Link cautiously moved forward, Hylian Shield in one and Master Sword in the other. I followed too, but with less caution. What's so scary about a bunch of cells? It's not like they can escape and get us ri-

Speak of the devil. An undead skeleton carrying a huge two-handed sword, burst out of its cage and tried to decapitate Link. I shot it in the face, and it died. Point blank. Can't beat that.

Ha. I wish.

Link barely dodged the deadly swing, but tripped over something and fell on his ankle. A sickening crack followed, which I could only assume was Link's ankle. I winced, but directed my attention towards the cackling Stalfos. I backed up into a cell, which I thought was empty. Too bad I was wrong, eh?

A boney hand grabbed my shoulder and I screamed before reflexively jabbing back with my elbow. It connected with something boney and sharp, before I heard a scream behind me followed by a soft thump.

I had just killed a Stalfos with my elbow through the ribs. Wow. That's really awesome.

Another piercing scream shot through the air and I winced. There goes another one. Link was standing over the first one, sword in both hand and on, what I assumed to be, his good foot.

I sighed, "Link, put that sword of your away and lean on me. I'll take care of the rest"

He rolled his eyes and put some weight on me. Only a little bit. We continued through the 'temple' (very slowly) only encountering a small amount of lone enemies, which we had trouble on. I had earned a gash across the leg with one, and almost got killed by another that flanked me. We eventually took them out though. No words were spoken by either of us because it was too freaky in this place to talk. Besides, I didn't think he felt like talking right now.

"Link, this sucks. What's going on? Why are there barely any enemies?"

"I really don't know, Ter. If I knew, I'd tell you…don't you think?"

I nodded, "True. Let's continue on."

A few more minutes of walking, with no enemies might I add, I heard a faint whimper in the corner of the room we were in. We were standing in the only light spot, which really didn't help our situation at all.

Link whispered to me, "Stay here. I'll check it out."

I protested for a bit, but stopped when Link gave me a look. I gulped slightly and kept my bow at the ready. The Hylian hopped on the same leg (wasn't it getting tired?) towards the sound of the whimper, and put away his sword suddenly. I raised an eyebrow, but followed his example.

"It's fine. Not an enemy. It's that mysterious wolf that could turn into a warrior that we met a while ago. Remember?"

I blinked, "Yeah. I remember. It's him? Why is he-" I got interrupted when the corner spoke.

No, correction. It is impossible for corners to speak. The Golden Wolf had somehow transformed into that freaky looking Stalfos outfit of his (again) and spoke in that same raspy voice, "Heroes. I praise you two for rescuing me"

Link opened his mouth to say something, but got interrupted by the Shade, "It's okay. You do not need to ask me. I will tell you what happened all those years ago…" It sighed and then continued, "In my time of youth, such as yourselves, I was a warrior. In one of my many travels, I was imprisoned by a group of Hylian men claiming that I-" It stopped mid sentence and shook it's head. Odd. "What I did or did not do isn't important right now. I got imprisoned in this place, and lived the rest of my life in here until I died of old age."

I gasped, "That must have sucked!"

The Shade glanced at me for a moment before chuckling, "Yes. It did. I am not allowed to leave this place, unless the boss of the Arbiter's Grounds, where we are now, is destroyed"

"Who is this boss that you speak of?" Link asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

The Shade peered at him this time and answered, "You will find out soon enough. It is now time for me to finish teaching you two the hidden skills of Ancient Hero from so long ago. Hero, get the Sword out"

Link did as he was told. I hung back and studied the Shade as they fought each other.

Hm…interesting. I do not know if Link notices this, but the Shade almost has the same fighting style as him. It's like…it's like he's related to Link somehow?

I don't know where I am going with this.

I was broken out of my reverie from a painful…sensation…in my chest. I gasped and doubled over at the sudden pain that seemed to be growing in volume.

Link gasped and dropped the Master Sword, and ran towards me.

The Shade calmly stared at me, but seemed shocked when he looked at…my hand?

Link yelled something, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. It was like…I was suddenly deaf.

I glanced at my hand, and what I saw scared me. I didn't know why, because I didn't know what it meant.

A triangle was glowing on my hand. I recognized the shape; it was on Link's hand when we both got sucked into Twilight. He told me was called the Trifork or something…

Instead of the right triangle glowing like on Link's hand, it was the top one.

That was the last thing I registered before everything went black and I fell unconscious.

**AN: Meh. Short chapter, but there are really important points in this one. I had it planned out for awhile, too. Like, since the beginning of the story. You'll just have to WAIT until I get the next chapter out! XD**

**Review, and I might update faster:D**


	19. Awakening

**AN: Even though I am sick (at the moment of typing, anyway…) I am still going to get a chapter out for you guys. Why? Because #1: I'm awesome, and #2: I have a sudden urge to write something and I am not going to let this go to waste. **

**First of all…the votes are in for what you want to happen next. So far…**

**Link and Terra kiss: 7 votes (35)**

**Some game based and some original: 7 votes (35)**

**Completely original from now on: 2 votes (10)**

**All game based: 1 vote (5)**

**Somebody dies: 2 votes (10)**

**Don't care: 1 vote (5)**

**I don't know what possessed me to put 'Link and Terra kiss' but whatever…it's tied with the other one. What I want to know is…who the hell put in 'Somebody dies'? You mean, cruel, heartless people… **

**Just kidding, I was planning for somebody to die anyway. And you guys won't know who. Muhaha. XD**

**The poll will stay open until the story's end, or until I say otherwise, so if you haven't voted yet…the poll is in my profile. **

**Anyway, I'll shut my trap now and let you read. Oh, you GOTTA love the original chapter title here. :P **

**EDIT: Slight edit here, a mistake that was pointed out by Peach the Hedgehog, was fixed. **

**Chapter 19**

**Awakening**

Ugh. What happened? It feels like my head has been hit by a transport truck or something…

I slowly opened my eyes and scanned around. It wasn't until I got up that everything came rushing back to me.

The cool-looking golden wolf was just explain to Link how to do more of those sweet hidden moves, and I passed out. But…how?

"Oh, you're awake…"

A voice frightened me out of my thoughts and I growled at the intruder before shutting my mouth. It was the Hero's Shade, staring at me like I was some kind of….threat?

"Where's Link?" I huffed and crossed my arms while glaring at the ghost, I never trusted him in the first place. The ghost seemed to sigh while it answered, "He is getting the second shard of the Mirror of Twilight-"

"Wait, second?" I frowned, "What happened to the first one, and why the hell am I here and not there helping him?"

Once again, the shade sighed before answering, "There is a lot that you need to be filled in on. First of all, let me tell you the legend of the Triforce and the creation of Hyrule…"

---Time Lapse. A few hours later.---

"And THAT, is why you can't go with him…"

I blinked, twice, before asking yet another question. "Wait so…let me get this straight. Hyrule was created by three Goddesses, Din, Farore, and Nayru" A nod from the shade. I continued, "You were the famed Hero of Time that defeated Ganondorf a few centuries ago with the sages," I paused to see him nod. He did and I went on, "And I now have the Triforce of Power, as you call it, that once belonged to this Ganondorf"

"Correct"

I groaned and slapped a hand to my forehead and mumbled into it, "Just peachy…"

Come to think of it...I remembered a while ago when I was back on Earth, that one of my friends tried to explain to me about the Zelda world. I wasn't interested, but she basically said something about Din, Farore, and Nayru. That thought brought a sudden urge of homesickness, but I fought it back. No time for that now.

Looking back up at the shade, I asked, "So…what now? You going to kill me since I have the evil Triforce piece?"

The former Hero of Time looked at me like I was insane and for the first time…I saw him laugh, "No, no, no. The Triforce piece isn't evil, it's the person that has it makes it evil-"

"So…you're calling me evil."

The ghost widened his one visible eye and shook his hands side to side, probably in fear that he had offended me. "No, no. You are not evil, and neither is the Triforce. Ganondorf, on the other hand, is an evil rotting bastard"

I put a finger to my chin, "Ah. So…why do I have his piece then? If I'm not evil…?"

He sighed and looked at me. His constant staring was starting to get on my nerves, "I am not sure. That is something you will have to ask the Goddesses themselves. Meanwhile, however, you need your sleep. Get some rest, I will wake you when the Hero of Twilight has gotten the second shard."

I didn't want to sleep, I wanted more answers. This 'Hero of Time' was hiding a lot of things from me, I was sure of it. I wasn't even aware that my eyes were shutting of their own accord before everything went black and I fell into a deep slumber.

---Third Person POV---

The Hero's Shade sighed as he watched the sleeping form of Terra. _She certainly has the attitude of me when I was her age, that's for sure. Even though she isn't from this world, I can tell that the Hero of Twilight is smitten with her. I took a great risk in telling her that I was the Hero of Time, and I hope she will not betray my trust…_

With that thought in mind, the former Hero of Twilight watched over Terra's sleeping form, guarding her with his life. After all, what good is a Hero when she is dead?

---With Link. Third Person---

Link groaned when he roused from his sleep. He had just finished the Snowpeak Temple, and he had to go back to the Arbiter's Grounds to meet with the Shade and Terra. Swallowing his worries until he got back to the Grounds, he set off climbing the hill that he just slid down a few hours ago. While he climbed the snowy path, his thoughts kept on wandering to the Triforce on her hand. How come he had never noticed that before?

---A few hours later (again). Third- Person---

"How is Terra? Is she alright?" was the first thing that came out of Link's mouth when he saw the Shade. It's usual grave expression slowly twisted into a smile and nodded, "She just woke up a couple of hours ago, in which I explained everything. I put her back to sleep using the typical spell, because she didn't want to rest anymore"

Link smirked, "Yeah, she's stubborn…but that's why I-"

_**BOOM!**_

The ground shook like thunder and caused Link to almost fall onto his butt, but he managed to stay on his feet. The Hero's Shade stayed on his feet as well. "What in Nayru's name was that?" Muttered the Former Hero of Time.

"Heh. Heh. Heh. It looks like I found my Triforce"

Both pairs of blue orbs shot up at the distinct voice. Ganondorf.

He was standing there, with a cruel smirk on his lips, where he had just made a door for himself out of a previously solid wall using explosives.

"What in the Sacred Realm do you want, Ganondorf?" The Former Hero of Time spat on the ground, and got into a fighting stance. The Evil King laughed again, "Now, now…Hero of TIME…no need to get all aggressive on me. All I want is the girl and the Triforce piece that she possesses, nothing more"

There was a short gasp that came from Link, the Twilight Hero, before he remained silent and held up the Master Sword…which pulsed in response.

Ganondorf smirked as he eyed the new Hero up and now, "This is the one that is supposed to kill me? How amusing. Impressive looking blade, though…I must say. Now…hand over the girl and we won't have to fight"

"In your dreams, you sack of cucco dung!" Both Heroes snarled out.

---With Terra---

Ow, my brain. It hurts. Wait, voices? Am I finally waking up?

I froze. Ganondorf's voice along with Link's and the Hero of Time's. Cool, Link's back…atleast.

"I say AGAIN! HAND OVER THE STUPID GIRL, AND YOU WON'T GET HURT!" somebody screeched out.

I winced at the loud noise and opened my eyes into little slits. Sure enough, Ganondorf was glaring at the two heroes who were currently fighting off a group of Stalfos.

I suddenly felt a burning sensation up my arm again, the same one that had the Triforce of Power on it, apparently. Suddenly, everybody stopped what they were doing (Stalfos included) and looked at me. What did I do _now_?

"Fine. If you won't give her up, I'll just ask her" The evil man snapped at the two heroes, who started to move closer to me. Damn it, where's my bow when I need it?

"Now, girl...hand over yourself and you won't get hurt" Ganondorf looked at me now with a cruel look in his firery eyes.

I felt a growl rise in my throat, and I tried to hold it down…I really did. But I failed, miserably. I managed to growl out, "You, of all fucking things, an evil manipulating bastard, have the nerve to ask me to join your side? Ha, don't make me laugh…you piece of shit! I already picked my side" The burning in my arm started to dwindle down a little bit, but it still hurt like hell.

"You have a lot of nerve talking to me like that, girl. Hand over the Triforce, and you won't be harmed!" A second request, from the evil asshat himself.

I only glared at him, and he burst out laughing. An evil laugh, that sent chills down my spine. "Heh, heh, heh. Stupid girl. You have no idea what kind of power you possess. Give it here, and you can be my right hand in command when we take over Hyrule!"

Does this guy ever quit? Holy crap, I think I made my point clear.

Just to make sure though…"Fuck. You. Case closed." I crossed my arms and grumbled under my breath.

Oh boy, I do not like the look of this. At all.

**AN: Yes. No temples in this chapter, no action…but a lot of freaking drama. There probably won't be another update before Christmas…so enjoy this one. Short chapter, I know…but I figured this was enough. Review! **


	20. Past Relations

**AN: You know, it feels like I haven't updated this in…in months. In reality, it has only been a month(ish). But whatever. While finishing a certain annoying as hell (Aka: Bane of Me. Er…Evil.) project, I got inspiration. Yay for all. **

**Don't you just**_**love**_** my sarcasm? What? You don't? Damn you. XD**

**Yeah, I'm a bit hyper. So what? It's an update, and even though I am thoroughly pissed at myself (for several occasions…) I still manage an update for you guys. Sorry, cheese is for nachos…I know. **

**Anyway, enough with my senseless blabbering. On with the story!**

**Oh. Wait. Not. Yet. These are the current poll results (to my complete and utter horror…)**

**Link and Terra kiss: 10 (I still can't believe I put this! Ugh…)**

**Somebody dies: 3**

**Completely original from now on: 2**

**Some game based, some original: 7**

**All game based: 1**

**Don't care: 1**

**Other: With a big, fat zippo. (No, not a hippo. Zippo. Zip. Nada. Oh to hell with it. Zero, okay?)**

**Now, you can read…if you haven't skipped this whole thing and started reading already. **

_**Chapter 20**_

_**Past Relations**__**  
**_

I cannot believe this is happening to me. Breathe, Terra. You must breathe to sustain life, damn you.

"Oh, really? I see you have the same attitude as the _Hero of Time _over there," Ganondorf, the evil asshole, sighed mockingly and raised a hand. "It's a shame, though. That you will meet basically the same fate. Ah well, that is life…I suppose."

I blinked. Holy crap, did that well-structured sentence just come out of his mouth…or am I hallucinating things. Please, dear God, let it be the latter.

"Uh…" Came my intelligent response to the Evil King's random spout of wisdom.

I watched, in utter horror, as a black ball of…something…formed in his hand and came at me, full force. My feet were frozen to the spot, and I couldn't move. Damn my feet and their ability to avoid the electronic impulses that my brain sends to them. Oh yeah, that sentence sounded so-

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" I jumped, startled out of my praising of myself, to come face to face with Ganondorf. Ew, did I see some nosehair? Gross, dude. That's just gross on so many levels.

I wasn't paying attention to what Link and the Hero of Time were doing, as it is very hard to do so when you have somebody trying to kill you at the same time.

"Get off her," A snarl came from behind me. "The fight's with me, you evil manipulative bastard, not her."

Oh, how charming. Stupid Hero of Time and his need to play hero again…

"Oh, I beg to differ…_Hero_. Why don't you put those toy swords away and just leave…? After all, I need some quality time with somebody here…"

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing right there. In Ganondorf's clutches. Oh my god! Ganondorf's gay! I knew it!

…Wait. He was talking about me, wasn't he? Damn him and his perverted mind.

There was a strained and stretched silence that followed my outburst, before Ganondorf grabbed me roughly by my hair, which caused me to yelp and my back to arch slightly. I didn't care about my hair, to be honest, it just hurt like pure and utter hell when somebody pulled on any of your hairs…let alone all of it.

"Shut the fuck up, bitch. I wasn't talking to you."

Oooh. Nerve. This guy's got nerve. Hah, is he so going to get it.

"Let her go, you chunk of-" Link growled out.

I, unfortunately, didn't hear the punch line. Apparently, the stupid triangle on my hand decided to hurt. Right _now_. While I'm in Ass hat's possession. Couldn't it just…wait?

Something extra cool happened after that. I remembered seeing a woman with red hair, red eyes…hell; even her clothes were red…before passing out. She whispered something to me. Damned if I knew what the hell she was talking about. Something about Triforks, destiny, and power. Meh, I didn't really care at this point in my life…and I doubted I would ever be. Thus, I didn't listen. I snapped back to reality.

"What heck just happened!?" I exclaimed, rather loudly, when I regained consciousness.

Oh wait. I still was passed out. I looked down on myself from my position in the sky. Weird, did my hair always look so…so…red? What the hell is up with all the damn red!

Wait a second. I'm in the sky? What. The. Fuck. Is. Happening?

"Welcome, Bearer" A female voice stated from behind me. She scared the crap outta me, and I reached for my bow. Damn it, where _is_ that thing?

I stared at the three woman that stood before me. Are they who I _think_ they are? No…it _can't_ be. Only one way to find out, though.

"Aren't you three the people on that one Apple commercial where-"

"What? Excuse me for interrupting, Bearer. But we have no idea what you are talking about. We are the three Goddesses. Din, Farore, and Nayru." The red one spoke. I narrowed my eyes, I was sure I heard those stupid names somewhere.

Oh right. Hero of Time told me about them before Ganondorf decided to rear his ugly face.

"Uh…hey?" I nervously waved, which caused the green dressed one to put a hand to her mouth to laugh lightly. I glared at her. I hate green.

"Bearer, this isn't the time to be nice and happy. You are aware of the legend of the Hero of Time…correct?"

I thought back to his useless ramblings that I didn't really pay attention to. He mostly bragged about him kicking a dragon's butt, though. "Yes, I am. Although, I have to admit-"

"We need no further explanation. We know everything. We also know that you need better listening and observation skills, maybe the Hero of Time could teach you those as well…" The red one, that I assumed to be Din…the Goddess of Power, smirked at me. I growled and resisted slugging her across the face, God knows that she needs it.

"Now, now. Let's not make an argument, girls. We brought her here for a purpose. Let's not stray from that, shall we?" The blue one finally spoke up. Nayru. I guessed she was shy, and I liked her immediately. That red one was really pissing me off though…

---With both heroes. Oh, and Ganondorf. Don't forget about him---

"What the fuck? Where the hell did she go?" Ganondorf whirled around on his feet, before glaring back at both of the heroes.

"To the Sacred Realm if I know. My Triforce is making my hand feel as if it's on fire, though." Link replied. The Hero of Time remained quiet, focusing on a spot on the ground.

---With Terra and the Goddesses---

I pointed down to the cloudy mass, "So, you can see what's happening up here? Like, anywhere you want?" My mind instantly began formulating many different things that I could see through that funky cloud. Not all were perverted, mind you. Only most.

Nayru sighed before gently smiling at me. She was amused, "Yes, Child. We are the Holy Ones after all. They will not attack each other unless you reappear. In other words, things will not happen unless we permit them to happen."

Uh. What?

"Say what?"

"Blast it, you stupid girl! We control and can see everything in our universe and yours. We sent you here, so you cannot only help out the Hero of Twilight, but also the Hero of Time. Basically, they fight for you. For the power you possess. I know it might be a little much for your small mortal mind to comprehend, but please try to stay with us!"

…Stupid redheaded bitch.

---With both heroes, and Ganondorf---

The Hero of Time kept staring at that same stone on the ground, eyes blank. He muttered under his breath, "I didn't know that the Bearer would be so clueless. I will have to train her when she comes back." Nobody noticed that Ganondorf was not moving. As in, he was still standing…but not breathing or moving. He was like a stone, a statue trapped in time's flow.

---With Terra. And the Goddesses---

"Time is also partially frozen down there. Only the wielder of the Triforce, or past wielders, will be able to move. Ganondorf is still frozen, so you can relax." Farore explained to me. I visibly relaxed, as I was basically commanded to do, and she continued. "We can send up both Heroes up here, if you want, to help explain some things to you. I also believe that the Hero of Time has your bow…" She trailed off, wanted to see my reaction.

That little piece of…

"Oh, please. Send them both up here so they can tell me what the _fuck_ is going on." I managed to snarl out. Believe you me, I wanted to swear more than that.

Farore smiled, "Will do."

All of a sudden, there was a flurry of green…well…stuff, combining beside each other in front of me.

"Finally, Farore. Jeeze, you are so slow sometimes…" That was the Hero of Time, obviously.

When both of them came into full view though, I had to remind my heart to keep beating. I swear to God.

Instead of the freaky skeleton that was the Hero of Time, he now looked well…normal. As normal one could get anyway. He actually looked like a mirror image of the Link I knew more, but except his tunic was a shade darker. He was wearing white (what I assumed to be spandex) tights, and his blue eyes sorta freaked me out.

Oh, and he was more muscular than Link. If that was even physically possible, of course. Oh my God those…those…_abs_…

He must have noticed my obvious gaping, for he shot me a lopsided smile and winked. Holy crap, even their damn _smiles_ and _expressions_ were the same.

The other green shimmering mass of…well….green stuff revealed Link, obviously.

I had to ask, so I just threw it out there. "Err…why the green?"

"What do you mean, 'Why the green?' Link, the Hero of Twilight, asked.

I sighed, "Why did you two come up in green stuff?"

"Green stuff?" The Hero of Time looked utterly amused, "If you think magic is only 'green stuff', then you've still got a lot to learn…I'm afraid." He was still smiling that damn smile. Curse him.

I made the most ferocious glare I could, and that made his eyes shoot to the…the…err…floor? Clouds? Whatever.

Wow. The Hero of Time, the dude that apparently killed tons of freaky monsters, was silenced by a glare. From me. Of course, he was probably being-

"Bearer, shut up so we can get started."

I mocked that insane red woman under my breath before sighing tiredly, "Fine. Fine. Whatever. You're apparently the boss around here."

"Everybody, let's just get along…at least for the time being. There is only a certain amount of time that we can all be together…" Nayru was about to say more, but was quieted by a look from Farore. What the hell was that all about?

I'm confuzzled.

"Now, Bearer-"

"You know, I have a name."

Din glared at me, and she apparently thought I would shrink down in front of her piercing gaze and beg for mercy on my poor tortured soul. Sucks for her that she assumed wrong, huh?

The Goddess of Power went up close to my face- close enough that I could smell her breath- and hissed, "Shut up, girl. I am a Goddess, and you have to do exactly as I say."

Okay. It was on. I growled angrily and curled my left hand into a fist and was about to slug a Goddess in the head, but the Hero of Time caught my hand before it actually hit her. Damn him.

"Keep your emotions under control, Terra." He whispered in my ear.

"Bearer," That title was starting to get under my skin. It took almost all of my willpower to prevent myself from…well…going apeshit, for a lack of a better term.

"It is about time that you learn why you are really here. You are not here to help the Heroes, as we previously told you…" Nayru trailed off, giving me a look of sympathy.

"You are here to fight Ganondorf. Alone. In a 1 vs 1 battle. Think you can handle it…?" Din challenged.

I kept my eyes trained to the floor. The Hero of Time was right, I had to get my emotions under control.

"Regardless, that isn't important right now." Farore paused.

My possible future death isn't important? Wow, that's really nice of her…

At this, Din lightly chuckled. "Dear God, girl. If we knew you weren't up to the task, we would have killed you off long ago," My face paled, but she continued anyway. "You can and will beat Ganondorf, as long as you know how to beat him. You have the Triforce of Power, which was originally his. You know of the legend of the Hero of Time, yes?"

I nodded, even though it was a lie. Hero of Time had told me the legend, but I sorta…tuned most of it out. It was boring, I tell ya.

"And, knowing him, I trust that he didn't tell you his name…?"

I rubbed my temples. My head hurt. "Let me guess. His name's Link, too…right?"

"…Yeah. It is. How'd you know?"

I grinned, "Because I'm just generally awesome, that's why."

Farore picked it up from here. Thank God. "So, to avoid confusion between the two heroes…think up a nickname for one of them."

I blinked. Nickname, huh? My gaze fell on the white spandex pants of the Hero of Time, and I snickered. "Okay, for the Hero of all things Timely over there," That earned a snicker from almost everybody. Except for Din, of course. "How about…"

I paused momentarily, and then smirked. "Tights."

"Tights?" Hero of Time's blank stare twisted into a scowl.

"Yeah, Tights. Because you wear white spandex. No wait, you people don't know the wonders of our world." I thought for a second, trying to simplify it for their medieval minds. "Spandex is basically any tight fitting clothes."

"Oh," Came the reply from a rather annoyed Hero. "That nickname sucks. Give me another one."

Farore had the heart to add in, "Oh. And don't worry about thinking about certain…things. Only Din can hear what you are thinking, but I would doubt she would keep anything confidential." I could practically _taste_ the mockery in her voice. Both of the Links grinned their…well….identical grins again and laughed amongst themselves.

I ignored her and them, mostly, and concentrated on trying to think up a name.

Okay. Think. Tights is out, unfortunately. It seemed fitting. What about…erm…damn. I'm not good at this at all, am I?

Oh! How about…Gold? Since he can go into a golden wolf and all with only one eye.

Erm…nah. That can have a double meaning, I suppose.

A wild and utterly insane name popped into my head, and I smirked somewhat evilly. "How about…Goldilocks?"

"No."

I pouted, "Come on! It's per-"

"Sleep on it. Right now, we have to transport you back into Hyrule, where you left off. We will transport Ganondorf somewhere else, as he was not supposed to see you yet. Hero of Twilight will continue collecting the pieces of the Mirror of Twilight, with Midna's help…of course, while the Hero of Time…well…trains you. That is all."

Wait…if they have the power to make things and people disappear…why can't they just kill Ganondorf themselves?

Everything had went a pitch black. I passed out. Damn.

**AN: Yes. I know things are confusing, but this is from Terra's POV. So, things would naturally be confusing. I know most of you want some game based…and in some ways, it is. Besides, I've found out that it's not really my style to completely stick to the game's plot. **

**If you have any questions, don't bother asking. Most if not all will be answered in the next chapter. **

**Yes, I always imagine the Goddesses to be sorta…well…carefree. Din being the meanest, followed by Farore, and then Nayru being the nicest. Odd, considering how Din and Terra are connected through the Triforce, and all.**

**Oh. Before I shut up, I would like to say something. A few (actually, it might have been only just one that mentioned…but whatever) said that they find swearing to be uncomfortable. Just keep in mind that Terra only swears when:**

**She sees something really dumb.**

**She is confused/freaked about something.**

**She's mad at somebody/something. **

**And that I planned for there to be more swearing in this chapter, but I resisted instead. **

**You guys have no idea how many inside jokes are in here, either. Man, I love those. . **

**Review, eh?**


	21. Clash of the Personalities

**AN: New poll. Kinda important. Look on profile. Anyway,  
**

**Sort of a (long) filler chapter, but not really. I wanted to write more (to my own shock) so I did. This is just to help calm your frazzled nerves (and most likely aching brain) from the information that I shoved into your face last chapter. A few important points in here, so keep them in mind. Heh…chapter title. XD**

**I tried to make it funny, but I ended up cutting out most of the jokes and banter in fear of insulting/disturbing somebody.**

_**Chapter 21**_

_**Clash of the Titans. No, wait. Personalities.**_

The first thing that came out of my mouth when the Hero of Twilight (I still have to think of a name to separate the two…) left to get the last two Mirror of Twilight shards was, "Tights, what the hell is going on?"

I heard a muffled groan from his position on the black sleeping bag that he apparently had on him, "Terra, I told you not to call me that."

I grinned when he buried his face into the sleeping bag (more than it already was, that is.) and smirked, "My dear Tights, that was when I was in the presence of Goddesses. You wouldn't expect me to argue with you over that…right? I take it you don't want me to call you Goldilocks either, would you?"

"Mpfh" his voice map muffled by the sleeping bag.

Silence. I almost burst out laughing when I thought of the white spandex stuff that was under the Hero of Time's green tunic. At least the Hero of Twilight's not-so-tight spandex stuff is a tan colour and blends in better.

"Hell, dude. You can keep the spandex if you want, but at least put on something other than a green tunic. The colours don't go well. What other colours do you have?"

He barely raised his head to look at me, "Oh? I've got red and blue, by the way."

Red or blue. Um...

"Doesn't matter though, because I like the contrast." He added as an afterthought.

I gave him a deadpanned look, "It'll help me distinguish between you two. You know, for fights and things like that."

He mouthed the word, 'oh', and rested his head on the sleeping bag again. I rolled my eyes at his laziness.

"How about...red?"

"I'm not modeling for you, you know. Pick which one. Red or Blue."

Crap.

"Uh...blue. The green around here combined with the red will make it look Christmas-y"

The Hero of Time raised an eyebrow, probably wondering what a Christmas was. I didn't bother explaining. He shook his head though, and snapped his fingers.

Voila. Instant clothes. Pretty sweet, dude. He was wearing a blue tunic, and the belt changed to black. Before it was a reddish colour, I think.

There was silence again. I wasn't bothered by it, so I didn't bother saying anything for a bit.

After a few minutes though, "Were you always this lazy? I mean, when you were actually alive."

He looked up at me, with not-so tired eyes, "I'm currently alive and breathing, to your utter dismay. And yes, I always was this lazy…when I didn't have to kill any monsters, that is."

"But there's Ganondorf…." I trailed off, unsure what to add.

"That's your job," He smirked, "Besides, I'm just here to train you. Otherwise, the Goddesses would have sent me back to that danged prison." He face scrunched up in disgust when he mentioned the prison.

"…Jerk."

"Love you too, Ter."

I rolled my eyes in muttered a curse word under my breath, before lying up against the stonewall. We were still in the forest, but we had taken refuge where the Master Sword was. Or, where it used to be. I was leaning up against a dirty, not to mention, rotting pillar of the old Temple of Time.

"You know what I don't get, though?"

No comment came from the peanut gallery, so I continued. "Why the hell do you get to sit on a sleeping bag, and I don't?"

Tights smirked – yet again- and replied. "Because, the Goddesses love me."

"You wish. Seriously, why?"

"Like I said before, I'm just the trainer. You are the one that has to face Ganondorf sooner or later. You're the one that has to run laps around this place aimlessly until I tell you to stop or until you bow at my knees, begging for mercy. Same goes for everything else, as a matter of fact."

I sighed. This was all rather…depressing. "Life sucks." I stated, blowing hair out of my face. Only to watch it fall right back into the same spot again. It was freaking hot outside. Did it even _snow_ in Hyrule? I doubted that.

Tights smiled that smile that I am beginning to loathe, with a great passion. "No, just yours. I'm having a blast, because in the next few months or so, I will have the privilege of training a fine female specimen such as you. Not to mention that I get to boss you around." He added as an afterthought.

I blushed slightly at this somewhat random compliment, but sighed anyway. "Stop flirting, because you are not really good at it."

"Oh, I really beg to differ. You're still blushing, by the way."

I ripped my gaze from the ant carrying a piece of food walking past me to the smirking smartass. I glared at him, but he just glared right back. I flinched at the blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with thunder- wait…what the hell am I on?

His glares are just harsh, okay? And I hate him.

"So," After a period of silence. "Aren't we supposed to be training now? I mean, with my death coming up and all."

The Hero of Time frowned slightly, and looked me square in the eyes. "Terra. Don't talk like that. You can beat him easily, you just can't make any mistakes."

"Real encouraging, Link."

He grinned, which somehow lightened my mood. "I try. Anyway, it's our day off. You kind of deserve it. Which reminds me, here's your bow."

He pulled the bow out of…his butt?

No, wait. He had a small brown pocket on his side. It was small at first, but then grew to full size again. What the…

Link (as there is only one right now, I will call him that.) followed my gaze and smiled sheepishly, "Magic pockets. And no, you can't have one."

"Damn."

He handed the bow to me, which I took from his hands. His rough-

No. Bad. Must. Not…ARGH!

My eye must have twitched, because he raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure I didn't damage it at all," he muttered under his breath.

Choosing to ignore him, I stuck my tongue out slightly in concentration as a plucked an arrow from my quiver and set it on the string. I carelessly drew it back and aimed for a tree on the other side of the…well…area. Narrowing my eyes, I blocked out all concentrations. Namely, Link staring at my technique and me curiously and intently. I let go of the arrow.

It missed by an arm's length, and I cursed. Loudly.

"Damn it. It worked last time…"

Link chuckled, "Want me to show you how it's done?"

I huffed, my ego rather hurt. I was, after all, trying to show off. "No. I've killed tons of things with my bow before though…"

Link snickered, "Like what? I hardly count a stray arrow striking a poor innocent animal as a kill…"

I glared at him, briefly, before taking out another arrow.

After I had put the arrow into position, I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, still holding the arrow in place.

"You know, it would help if you opened your eyes to see what you are firing at." The Hero of Time's voice was laced in sarcasm and amusement.

I ignored his smart-ass comments and concentrated on my breathing. In. Out. Slowly. In almost not time at all, I felt something warm seep from my arms slowly and into the bow, and without even looking…I fired.

I heard a startled gasp from Link, and an arrow striking wood soon after that. I opened my eyes, rather widely, to find the Hero of Time staring at me and the arrow in shock. I peered into rapidly increasing darkness, trying to find the arrow. It wasn't hard.

The arrow was lodged in the tree that I was trying to aim at before, but it was on fire this time. What the hell…?

"I believe," Link started after a short silence, "That you discovered magic on your own."

He put a hand to his heart, rather dramatically, and dared say, "Your lover, the other Link, would be so…proud!"

I glared at that comment, but blushed slightly also. Damn hormones…

"He's not my lover and…cool. I actually discovered that on my own?"

"On very low levels, yes."

I grinned, "Sweet."

There was silence for a minute or two. I was trying to phrase what I was trying to say. The Hero of Time looked greatly amused for some reason or another. I took a breath, "How come, when you were in your skeleton-"

"Stalfos." He corrected.

"Sorry," I said quickly without realizing it. "Stalfos form, you talked different. Better. You didn't have this…attitude."

He sighed, seemingly depressed, before answering, "Because in that form, I was restricted to speak professionally, and that just isn't my style."

No argument there.

All of a sudden, Link stood up and glanced at me. "Here, I'm going to go out for awhile." When he felt my suspicious gaze on him, he explained. "To go hunting for food. You stay here and holler through the Triforce if Ganondorf appears again or something equally bad. Your lover will probably be back soon, and I'd rather not witness what you guys do when your alone…"

Before I could shoot a glare his way, he snapped his fingers and disappeared in green light. Again, what's up with the green?

I didn't even know_how_to talk through the Triforce, stupid…ass.

'_Oh, Terra. I'm hurt, really.'_

"Holy crap! What the fuck was that?" I exclaimed loudly, successfully scaring birds from somewhere.

It was inside my head, and it plainly freaked me out. It apparently showed, for somebody laughed. _'And to think that you actually thought that I was…oh, what was it?'_

A pause.

'_Oh, yes. Drop dead handsome? I'm flattered, really. But I'd rather not steal you away from your lover and risk his wrath.'_

I blushed, only to scowl at the owner of the 'voice' inside my head. I really hate this man.

Link…get the hell out of my head before I beat you out of it.

'_No, you would cause yourself brain damage. Besides, I forgot to tell you how to talk through the Triforce.'_

Aren't I doing that right now?

'_Yes, but that is mainly caused by the fact that I can read you like a book.'_

A pause. What was that supposed to mean…? Is he on…crack?

'_Real simple really. You show your emotions way too well, and that isn't good in battle. Especially not against Ganondorf.'_

He apparently chose to ignore my 'crack' comment. I yawned widely in sheer boredom.

Aren't you supposed to be hunting? And this is all rather confusing.

'_I'm stalking a deer, and it'll all make sense in time…I assure you. Oh. I see that your lover's back. Have fun, you two._'

And like that, he was gone.

Holy crap, that guy totally freaked me out. How did he know that the Hero of all things Twilighty was here…?

"Terra. Snap out of it."

---Time Lapse. An hour or two later.---

I was bored. No, I was worse than bored. And hungry too, where the hell's the food?

And contrary to Smartass' belief, Link and I did not kiss or anything equally as disgusting as that.

"I can understand if you are bored, but don't fall asleep on me here. The food's right here and…I was practically beside you when I was transmitting that message to you. That's why it was so easy for you to send and receive messages. Oh, and too bad. Better luck next time."

I jumped, and instinctively reached for my bow. Only to have it not there again. The-

"Surprised you? Tomorrow, first and foremost, is your observation skills. Yours, to be put bluntly, suck."

I grit my teeth together, trying to prevent myself from tackling the arrogant man.

A rather sweaty looking Hero of Time dropped two dead dears in front of the fire that the actual sane Link had set up ahead of time. I glared at both for a moment, before coming to a conclusion.

"Hey, can't you guys talk to each other through this triangle too?"

"Triforce, and yes. You're a smart one, aren't you?"

"Tights, shut the hell up before I make you."

"Oh. Feisty one you've got here!" The comment was directed towards Sane Link, the one that was not suffering from brain damage.

I growled and I heard both of them chuckle (they were both almost the same. Freaky, dude. Freaky.) before Smartass started to skin one of the deers.

I glared at the Hero of Time for a bit before looking up at the sky. Something…didn't feel…right.

"The reason why something doesn't feel right is because something isn't right at all. Currently, Triforce of Courage and Power are together, and both are currently not trying to kill each other, so both bearers will have an urge after awhile to kill each other. Oh, and before you ask why…the Bearers of Courage and Power have had a long history of…being at each other's throats. "

"You'd better run for your life, then. Oh, and don't read my mind anymore…you freak me out."

He looked back at me and grinned, "Oh, I know."

Sane Link, muttered something under his breath.

"What's wrong, lover-boy? Lover-girl over here didn't kiss you? What a pity…"

"Tights, I swear to God. Or the Goddesses, whatever. Shut the hell up before I _make_ you."

"Oh? And what current physical strength do you have to even attempt to take me down? Another thing for you to work on, too."

I grumbled under my breath, knowing that he was right.

"I'll tell you what," I looked up when Smartass spoke again. His face was contorted into an almost smirk, as the deer (one of them, at least) cooked over the fire. Sane Link was staring up at the sky with an odd expression on his face. Weird. How did they even light that…?

"If you can take me in an arm wrestle, right here, right now…I'll stop my constant ridiculing about the obvious love you two have for each other."

"Tights, you know damn well that you could probably rip my arm off. Besides-"

"Oh, and to answer that one question…it was magic by me. Oh, and don't worry…lover-boy over here can't hear your thoughts. Only I can. I may need bribing to keep your thoughts from leaking out though…" I glared at him suspiciously. He just shrugged. I heard Sane Link laugh from somewhere.

"Just saying, you know." The Hero of Time added, with his blank face slowly twisting into a smirk.

"I hate you."

"Good. You'll need that for tomorrow."

"Guys, uh…food's ready." Sane Link's voice quietly spoke up.

Hey, since when the hell did he become quiet…?

'_Since he realized his pure love for you, my friend'_

Holy crap, quit DOING that!

'_Make me. Besides, you wouldn't want me saying that out loud…would ya? I have values, you know'_

I scoffed, barely any values at that though.

"Shut up, and let's eat. You've got training to do tomorrow."

Man, what a fun killer.

He didn't bother responding to that, thank god. We ate the venison in silence, and then I promptly hit the sack. (By sitting the sack, I mean stealing the great Hero of Time's sleeping bag, running away, and then sleeping in it.)

---POV Change. Third-Person POV---

"You know," The Hero of Twilight, whispered quietly, as to not wake Terra. "You really cheered her up today. Why?"

"Meh. She was feeling down, and I know damn well how that feels like. I'm sure you know what it feels like too."

"I…I heard something about her kind of…well…pining over you."

The Hero of Time let out a soft chuckle and shifted his gaze to the sleeping form of Terra, who might as well look like a log. "Yeah. Don't worry; her hormones are probably out of control. I promise I won't try anything, and I doubt she would try anything."

The Hero of Twilight smiled slightly, "Thanks, man."

"No problem. Besides, we basically look the same anyway."

"Heh, true. Well, I'm going to get to bed. I have another temple to clear tomorrow."

"Okay. Uh…where's Midna?"

A shadow popped out of Link's own in that instant and she smiled, a tooth sticking out of her mouth, "Right here. I usually don't like showing myself to freaks, so excuse the shyness. Night!"

And with that, the Twili girl went back in the Hero of Twilight's shadow. To go asleep, they both assumed.

---Time Lapse. Morning. POV Change to Terra.---

I shifted.

Cold.

Good God, I hate the damn cold. I need to fix that damn AC. First thing's first though…finish my homework and study for a test today.

My eyes slowly opened, and my heart instantly sank.

Oh yeah. Still in Hyrule. Right.

I want to go home.

I never really had a chance to think about home before, but now I do.

I yawned, rather loudly, and got up from my sprawled position on Smartass's sleeping bag. Grinning slightly at the memory, I slowly got up and stretched my aching muscles.

Both were still asleep. Perfect. Time for plan A.

With that thought in mind, I grabbed my quiver with arrows and my bow before setting off to the Goddesses only knows where.

If I gave them any credit, I doubt they knew where I was heading to either. I just…want to go home. I want this to end up like a bad nightmare. I w-

'_You know, sneaking out in the break of dawn isn't the best thing for your safety.'_

Holy crap, I hate this guy. You know, reading people's thoughts isn't healthy for you either.

Silence. More silence. I shivered slightly, and continued walking to, where I assumed to be, the exit to this place.

All of a sudden, I froze. A weird feeling entered my body, causing my breath to get caught in my throat. My muscles tensed up, and I dove to the left, successfully landing on my left wrist causing an audible crack to fill my senses.

I was hardly aware of the pain in my wrist; I just got up and growled at the soon-to-be-dead-man.

The smirking madman was not smirking so much anymore. I had managed (without my full knowledge) to dodge the Hero of Time's attempt to strangle me or something. I'd rather not find out what he would do.

I burst out laughing though, forgetting the throbbing pain in my left wrist, to find Smartass's face buried in mud.

"Hey, that was a pretty good dodge there." Came the muddied man's reply. I just smirked at his obvious discomfort.

Before I knew it, a sword was pressed up against my neck and I was practically face to face with the Hero of Time himself. Da Hell…?

"You have no idea how much my Triforce is begging me to slit your throat right now, Terra…but I won't. At least, not yet. Even though I can read your thoughts, I want you to explain to me exactly why you plan on going home." The Hero of Time practically snarled out at me.

I looked down on the ground, slight fear still evident in my eyes. The sword dug in deeper, drawing a bit of blood, before I yelped. The sword stayed where it was.

"I don't plan on going home."

"That's a load of crap, and you know it. Spill."

I sighed, defeated. I opened my mouth to explain, but the sword dug in deeper.

Ah, this was a test.

I smirked at his face which was still muddy and snapped back., "Bite me, you ass."

He raised an eyebrow at my vocabulary but grinned anyway and pulled the sword away from my neck, which was now slightly bleeding. He eyed it for a second. I hid my wrist behind my back, hoping he wouldn't notice.

He didn't. At least, he didn't show it.

"That, as you probably assumed, was a test. It was to see if you could dodge properly, which you passed. It was also to see if you would spill out any information if captured…which you almost failed."

I nodded in understanding, before wincing slightly. Pain, dude. Pain.

Smartass frowned referring to the rather long cut on my neck which was still bleeding a bit, "Oh come on, I didn't use that much for-"

He stopped himself and reached for my hiding wrist from behind my back. I sighed and showed it to him.

It was swollen, a purple colour slowly growing darker, partially bleeding, and probably fractured. Didn't feel broken though.

Smartass whistled through his teeth, "Where'd you get this?"

I blinked, "Must have been when I dodged you. I think I landed on it."

"Bad move."

I winced, the pain coming to me full force. "Yeah."

**AN: Whoo. Whoo. 3000+ words. 3000+ words. Go me. Go me. XD**

**Abrupt, I know. I had to stop it somewhere though. **

**Yeah. Tons of inside jokes in here. You gotta love 'Smartass's' attitude though. Kinda like my brother's. . **


	22. The Horror Of It All

**AN: Okay, okay. I lied. This is just another 'filler' chapter. Not really important, but take in the information anyway. Training begins. (cackles eviily)**

**A few people have brought to my attention that this is slowly turning into Rebel. I hopefully hope not, because I hate that story. With a passion, and I don't even know why. I fixed up Terra's attitude a bit in this story. I have an idea as to why this is turning into a little bit of Rebel, but I will keep that to myself.**

**EDIT: Forgot to mention this. New poll up. Please vote if you haven't already. Thanks! **

_**Chapter 22**_

_**The Horror of it All**_

An hour or so later found me staring at a far-off point in the distance contemplating the meaning of life.

No, not really. But that would be better than this.

The Hero of Time, currently in the process of giving me a lecture, talked about his journey as a Hero and how he fought certain bosses. I have heard this all before though. Grumbling under my breath crossing both my arms over my chest, I leant up against the rough and somewhat cold stone wall. My eyes had long glazed over with the sheer boredom of listening to a lecture.

Yeah, I wasn't listening.

"Terra. Listen to me, this is important."

I glanced in his direction, only because of his tone of voice. Something in it told me to pay attention, so I did.

"Glad to see that I have your attention. Since you don't really care about my past, apparently, let's start on your training. Show me that wrist of yours, first."

I didn't, because I already knew it was healed. Brand new, in a matter of hours.

Why? To hell if I know. Probably something to do with the stupid Triangle etched into my hand.

He glared at me briefly before snatching my wrist from behind my back. I didn't know how he did that. He just sort of…grabbed my opposite arm, and spun me around. Fast. Stupid freak…

"As you assumed, the Triforce of Power healed your wound using the magic that it possesses." A pause, "Let's get to training. Observations skills, today." The Hero of Time added, before I could ask.

The Hero of Twilight (AKA: Sane Link) had left half an hour earlier. He said that he had to go out and clear the Temple of Time, which confused the hell outta me. Weren't we already in the ruins of said temple? How could he clear out the Temple of Time, when it crumbled a long time ago?

---

For the past hour, Link had been teaching me the 'ways of observation' and how I had to enhance my senses and try to act like an oracle. It was exceedingly dull, and I found myself nodding off on several occasions. Finally, the lesson came to a close so I was allowed five minutes of free time. He's generous, isn't he?

I sighed, overdramatic, and plopped down on my usual spot under the-

_BBBZZZT!_

What the…?

The loud buzzing noise not only scared the heck out of me, but it also caused Link to laugh openly at me. Jerk.

"What-"

I was interrupted. He could read my thoughts, you know. "That was simply your Triforce trying to get you to kill me, again. Mine is doing the same thing, actually. As a matter of fact, if I didn't like you…you would have been dead a while ago." He added as an afterthought, not looking at me.

I glared at his back, before mumbling. "Stupid showoff. Thinks he's so smar-"

"I admit I'm a little bit of a showoff, but I hardly call myself smart. That's usually somebody else's department."

My eye twitched, and I tried my best to ignore him. I failed miserably, of course.

"Smartass, by God. You are the perfect example of a person that should be writhing in pain right now."

He frowned a little at the nickname I gave him, but smirked nevertheless. "I still fail to recognize how you can hurt me. You probably couldn't even catch me. Which reminds me, let's work on your running."

---Time Lapse. About 7 minutes later---

I…hate…running.

Link had practically forced me to run around the perimeter of the place we were staying 'in'. I was on my 10th lap, when he stopped me.

"You run weird. Do it like this."

He demonstrated how to run properly, doing a lap around the court. Yeah. I'm just going to call the area that we were in now that for simplicty's sake.

I stared at him like he was utterly insane or retarded and a snide popped out of my lips, "Link, I'm pretty sure I know how to run."

He smirked, "Apparently not, beca-"

"Hey guys, I'm back." Twilight-kid's voice rang from above. I didn't really bother to look, because I didn't care all that much. I hate work.

"Back already, man?" The Hero of Time grinned widely as he trotted up to greet Sane Link.

The Hero of Twilight scowled and glared at a bundle of innocent grass. "Yep. Stupid boss spider at the end was a royal pain in the butt, though."

My eye twitched. Why didn't he even swear? Smartass didn't cuss a lot either. It might have just been me, but Hyrule seriously needs a lesson on swearing and the wonders of electricity.

They started chatting, about what…I really didn't care. I think I am supposed to be running…but it feels like I'm going to spontaneously combust at the moment. Besides, I want to practice more magicy stuff.

Grabbing my bow and quiver from where they were, I sneaked out of the area. I faintly heard Smartass' comment of, "Don't worry, she won't go far. I hope." Before I was out of earshot.

Heh. Peeerfect.

I arrived in the area where Sane Link and I had to fight a Stalchild for reasons unknown and was gifted with an excellent marvel.

Somewhere, somebody loved me out there…because there were rows upon rows of targets for me to pelt arrows with. (And burn them up, too!)

I did the same as I did the day before to shoot the fire arrow, and then let go. Something exploded causing my eyes to shoot open.

In the target's place, was a black mass of…well…soot. Cool, I actually made it explode!

I grabbed another arrow from the quiver, and nocked it into place. I did the same as before, but I thought of ice curling around the arrowhead.

Letting go of the projectile rewarded me with a shattering sound while the magical ice slowly ingulfed the target.

By that time, Sane Link and Smartass had walked into the same general area. Most likely watching me.

"Wow, Terra. Even after an hour of me watching you space in and out this morning didn't help your observation skills much…did it?" The voice of the Hero of Time floated down towards me. I scowled at his attitude, but ignored him anyway.

I grumbled a curse before reaching for another arrow, and aiming at Smartass. He flinched, somewhat surprised by my action.

Let me rephrase that. A moblin had sneaked up behind him and was about to bash his head in with a club, but I took care of it with a shot to the head with an arrow. The body fell down with a loud _thunk_ beside the Hero of Time.

The near-victim blinked, twice, before beaming in my direction. "That's what I'm talking about. Look out for yourself more, though."

Wait, so he knew about that moblin?

"Of course. That was a test, in which you passed." A pause, "Keep firing those arrows, by the way."

I did.

---Time lapse.---

20 targets, an hour, and many complaints from my mouth later, I had hit the centre on every single target.

Each time the arrow would not hit the middle of a target, Smartass would use some sort of magic to replace that target with a new one, and told me to try again. Ass, eh?

My arm felt like it was going to…well…fall off, and my head wasn't coping any better.

Hearing my stomach made me redden a little in embarrassement, but I managed to grumble out… "When's food?"

"Food comes, to your mouth anyway, when you finish those laps that you managed to escape from. Get at it." The Hero of Time had a mouthful of venison in his mouth, and I had to keep myself from scowling.

I still did what I was told though, and I started to jog around the perimeter of I'm going to call it that.

On my second lap, the same annoying s- err…I mean…plain voice stopped me. "Stop. I said run, not jog. Start over."

Grr…

I ran this time, rather quickly I might add. I'm going to show that little-

"Run, don't sprint. You'll tire yourself out."

Luckily for me, I won't. I'm basically a sprinting master.

I continued to sprint, and I started to feel it around my second lap. He had made me start over.

I slowed down slightly, and went into barely a run this time around just for spite.

Smartass mumbled something under his breath, and I could have sworn I saw a smirk on Sane Link's face. They're planning som-

A whooshing sound ensued. I instinctively dodged to the right. I glanced back to see an arrow whobbling from its position in a tree trunk. The arrow had come from behind, and had grazed my side a bit. Nothing major, so I didn't bother complaining about it.

This continued for the past couple of minutes. Random arrows would come out of the bushes, and I would have to dodge them while running. It sounds easy, but really…it's not at all. I had gained a couple of good sized bruises and cuts from that session.

Finally, I had finished my laps and came back to the centre gasping for breath.

"Give me 20 pushups. Real ones." The Hero of Time uttered out as soon as he noticed that I was done. I had no choice but to follow what he said, but I complained just because I could.

"I hate pushups. Why don't you kill me while you are at it?"

No response came from either Heroes, so I started my pushups reluctantly.

I managed to do 6 of them before my arms gave out causing me to fall pathetically on my stomach. I grunted slightly from the impact. Wow, that was a lot better than last year in gym. I could barely do 3 of them back then.

"Get up and continue. You're not going to build any muscle that way. The food is getting cold, by the way."

I scoffed under my breath, before doing another five. I was about to go down for my sixth, but my arms gave out and I did a face plant right in the mud below me.

"I sense a pattern here. You falling on your face and all rather pathetically. To think that you are the one that helped me through three temples…" The Hero of Twilight grinned while he commented on my current state of complete and obvious suffering.

"Two. I only helped you through two, because you made me stay back for the third one." I couldn't help but argue. I think it was in my nature.

A pause and then, "Oh yeah. I forgot about that."

"Tomorrow, we will work on your physical strength. Mainly, your arms." Commanded the Hero of Time. He had claimed his sleeping bag before I got there, and was staring at me and the Hero of Twilight bickering back and forth in mild boredom with his chin on his arms.

I still haven't ate, and was still lying on my stomach (face still in the mud) exhausted. I whimpered pitifully before turning on my back. My whole body hurt like crazy, and I was about to complain when-

A scoff came from Smartass again, "Come on, you can't possibly be exh-"

"Man, give her a break. She's a girl." Surprisingly, Sane Link came to my 'rescue' and had managed to speak 6ish words at a time. Wow.

Wait – was that a sexist comment? Grr.

A chuckle came from both of them, and once again I found myself fighting to keep from killing them both.

Stupid Triangle of Power.

"Hey, show respe-"

I scoffed, not looking at either of them. "Screw that. I'm not even from this world, so I don't have to. Besides, I'm a girl…so what do I know?"

The last part of my statement came out rather…harsh….but I didn't bother taking it back. I hate physical work.

One of them said something in reply, but I wasn't listening. My attention was focused on the sky. Why was it suddenly…purple?

A dark portal appeared above me, and I cursed. Oh crapacola.

I had managed to get out of the way before…something…landed. It looked like a-

"It's a Iron Knuckle. I'll take care of-" the Hero of Time started. He was cut off, though.

A wall of flames divided the courtyard in two. Unfortunately for me, I was on the side with the Iron Knuckle.

Well, this sucks…doesn't it? I don't even have a-

_Thunk_. Something landed on top of my head and bounced onto the ground below, causing me temporary pain. A sword. More specifically, the Ordon Sword that Sane Link had before he got the Master Sword.

Well, that answers one question out of a million. Now, how the hell do I use-?

My thoughts were cut off by the huge black sword of the Iron Knuckle approaching me at high speed. I cursed and back flipped clumsily, avoiding the slash that would have beheaded me. It grunted before heading towards me at a snail's pace.

I stared at it. Was this thing…retarded?

It made a move to attack me again, but I just evaded.

Damn. I'm not getting anywhere here. Way to go, Smartass. Why don't you let me run a billion laps and not bother training me on swordplay? You suck, dude.

'_Heh. Have confidence. Believe in yourself." _

I ignored him. I knew what I was doing. I hoped so, anyway.

I backed far enough away from the thing- that still moved really slow- to do a few test swings with the sword.

It felt weird. Swords suck.

I whimpered pitifully and I tried to do that flipping sheathing move that I saw Sane Link do earlier. The sword nearly ended up through me on several occasions, though.

The monster was quickly approaching, and I had to think of something, so I stopped messing around. How can I fool around in the face of danger anyway? I didn't know.

I gave the creature a once-over, trying to figure out its weaknesses.

Well, it has armor…and knowing how Ganondorf's mind works, he probably put straps thin enough to cut with a sword around the back so the armor would fall off.

Now that I had part of a plan…how to execute it?

I continued to back away from the creature, careful to not trip over things or back myself into a corner. Suddenly, it growled at me and charged.

Oh snap. Oh snap oh snap oh snap.

I dodged to the right twice, evading the crazed monster attempting to scewer me.

Something…wasn't right, though. It could easily kill me, so why was it holding back…?

It charged again, and I dodged yet again. My legs started to throb again, but I tried to ignore the pain. It didn't work out that well.

I started to circle the thing, instead of staying still and waiting for it to do something. I doubted it would tire anytime soon.

It charged, and I dodged.

It slashed, and I backed away.

This has got to be some sort of test. The moves the thing makes are too predictable.

So, being the utterly stupid person that I was, I dropped my sword on the ground. It clattered. The monster looked at me in, what I assumed to be shock, before charging me again.

I could dodge much faster without the sword though, and I leapt out of the way quickly. It skidded to a stop and was about to turn around when I kicked in on the backside of its knee, making it collapse to the ground. I reached for my sword, within an arm's reach, before stabbing it up to the hilt of the blade through the backside. I heard the blood gurgle in his mouth and the body went limp soon after.

So did mine.

---Time Lapse. Unknown.---

I groaned and slowly opened my eyes slowly.

"Oh, you're finally awake…I see."

Oh shit. Judging by the way Smartass is practically glaring at me and the tone of his voice, I'd say that I'm in for a lecture.

"Damn straight you are. Get up, I have to teach you basics of common sense."

I reluctantly got up from my somewhat sprawled position on the floor. The body of the monster was still there, and I was halfway on top of it. Gross, dude.

"When you are fighting something, never…and I repeat…_never_ drop your weapon. Your fighting style sucks, I need to teach you a better method."

Yeah. He's a smartass. What are you going to do, eh?

"Shut up and listen," He snarled. That caught my attention.

"Secondly, don't take too long to think. You're lucky that Din sent that thing down for us and made it really stupid. Monsters, in actuality, aren't that dumb and repetitive."

Hah. I knew it was a test.

"Thirdly, don't under estimate yourself. Have faith, and most of the time things will turn out fine."

Okay, mother.

"And don't mock me, unless you want me to hurt you." His voice still had that anger tone to it, and it seemed to get worse every time I responded. Heh, gotta love sarcasm.

Yes, father.

"That's mocking. Stop."

I heard him take a deep strangled breath in frustration, " Come on, you still need to eat."

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

A few minutes later, I was eating a chuck of venison when I heard the boys talking a bit away. "You're being too hard on her-"

"No, I'm not. Do you think Ganondorf will be easy? No. If she were to face him right now, she would be dead in a matter of seconds. It's for her own good."

Wow. Somebody's got a stick up the butt or something. What he said made sense though, so I didn't make another sarcastic remark.

I sighed, muttered a curse word or two, and took another bite of my food.

"Meat builds muscle, Terra. So, eat up. We are going to work on swordplay tomorrow, so go to sleep right after. It's my turn to guard, tonight."

Three. Two. One.

Damn. No sarcastic comment came from my mouth. It's not my fault he works me like I'm some sort of slave…

I finished my food, and practically fell onto the ground. My back didn't appreciate that, but I really didn't give a damn. I was asleep in a matter of a few seconds.

---Time Lapse. Morning---

Poke.

Poke. Poke.

Poke. Poke. Poke.

Nuugh. I rolled over, trying to ignore the little demon trying to wake me up from my sleep.

"WAKE UP!"

That did it.

My eyes snapped open and I reflexively let my fist fly – right into somebody's mouth. The teeth scratched my knuckle a bit at impact.

Whoops. I hope he doesn't kill me _too_ bad.

"It's only a tooth," I had knocked out one by mistake. "It's not worth it, anyways. I'll hurt you later." Muttered the Hero of Time under his breath as he walked away. His ego looked hurt, poor guy.

It took me sometime to register what happened, though.

Wait. I punched the Hero of Time in the face, practically got away with it, and I made him run away like a scared little schoolgirl. Coool. He deserved it, anyways.

"Nice shot there, Terr." Chucked Sane Link from somewhere. I grinned, "Thanks. But shit, dude…that hurt my hand."

"Wait…so…why isn't he slaughtering you again…?"

"Because, as I said before, it's only a tooth. I can fix it up using magic, which I just did."

Stated the Hero of Time. I grumbled. Damn it, it would have been hilarious to see him with a missing tooth.

"Well, man…you deserved it. I've learned from experience not to wake her up when she has had less than 8 hours of sleep." The Twilight Hero laughed again at the other scowling man.

"Oh, and don't fall asleep again, Ter. I understand you're going to get some rather…gruesome lessons today."

Hey, did I detect humor in that? Wow, even their attitudes are basically the same. I thought I came to that conclusion before but…my head hurts! Do you even have _any idea_ how hard it is to take in a lifetime's worth of information and skills in a few days? And perfect them?

"Don't blame us for your own fate. The Goddesses could have easily picked somebody else," Sane Link said to me with a slight smirk on his features.

"Why me though?"

"No clue. Ask them about that."

I heard a chuckle somewhere beside me, and I decided to open my eyes at that point. "Because. It wouldn't be fun. If they had brought in somebody more experienced, then I wouldn't get to train them. Not to mention, they would get way to cocky for their own good and probably slaughtered in the final battle."

I raised an eyebrow slightly, not really understand what the hell he was talking about. Meh, whatever helps him sleep at night, I guess.

"I don't sleep at night,"

Quit doing that, dude.

"I stalk you. I follow you wherever you go, and see whatever you do. I frighten you."

Another bunch of chuckles from the two. Mppfh. Hey, at least the ass hat over_there_ made his first rhyme.

"Open your eyes, and let's get started on that attitude of yours, Terra."

Let me think about that. Hm. No.

"Don't make me make you."

How is that even pos-

I felt fingers gently lift my eyelids up, and I glared at the arrogant guy staring me down. That hurt.

"No it didn't, quit being a baby. They're only eyes."

I scoffed, "Yeah. That's exactly why you only had one working one before. They're only eyes."

"Ter, I wouldn't piss him off, if I were you. He didn't exactly appear to be happy either when I tried to talk to him."

"Thanks for the heads up," I mumbled.

I slowly got up, and Smartass backed off with a rather triumphant smirk on his face. He was practically a few inches from my face that whole time. He knew I hated that. Or knew I kind of liked it. Whatever. I probably wasn't even blushing, because well…he's an ass.

"Anyway, I'm off to the sky now to get the last shard. Wish me luck, it's not like I need it though."

"See ya, man. Good luck." ISmartass saluted the younger man before turning to me. I waved goodbye and wished the Hero of Twilight good luck as well. He waited for him to leave the court before a slow smirk twisted onto his face. I don't like that look.

"It's just you and me, baby. Up."

My eyebrow twitched, but I did as I was told.

---

The whole day went in a giant blur. Link had trained me on swordplay, and had taught me the proper way to hold the sword and he taught me a few basic moves. I asked him how Sane Link can do that awesome sheath move thing where he twirls the sword around, but he just shrugged with a knowing look on his features.

Jerk.

I had sparred with Link, and he let me win…obviously. I glared at him for that, but he just avoided my gaze.

When the Sane one came back, I noticed that Smartass acted different when he was around but I didn't think much of it. We ate more venison again, and I fell asleep after that. I was tired, but I was thanking God the whole time that I didn't have to do a pushup.

**AN: Good god. I hate pushups. They are like, the bane of my existence or something. . **

**4000 words. Please excuse me now while I rest my fingers from the pain.**

**Anyway, yeah. Review if you want. **

**No, actually. I **_**command**_** you to review. Yes. I command you. Since I'm the author, and I already have the next chapter written and proofread, then I can delay it as much as I want. IF you **_**review**_**, then I won't have to delay that long. ;)**

**Seriously, though. Please review, because then it'll give me encouragement to write more, which is good for all of us. Encouragement is good, people. **


	23. Evolution

**AN: It's been exactly a week since the last update, just to let you guys know. There's a 'little' bit of a time jump in this one. Shorter chapter, too. Oh, also somewhat major/minor character changes from this chapter on. You'll see why and how. **

**This chapter was originally double in length, but I shortened it up just because I **_**can**_** and that I've noticed that last chapter's hits have been cut in half than the usual number. I figured it was because of the length? Whatever. Sucks for you, more time for me. XD**

** Also, I _was_ going to hold this chapter for a week more but after reading the reviews over again for next chapter...my stubborn and evil attitude melted into a tiny puddle of goo and I just had to post this right now otherwise I would have felt bad. :/**

**See you at the bottom! **

_**Chapter 23**_

_**Evolution**_

Things went on like that for a few months. I would get up early, train with the Hero of Time until I almost died from exhaustion, eat and then sleep. Rinse and repeat.

Of course, when the Hero of Twilight came back a week later after he left, he grumbled a apology. Something along the lines of him having to go in the Twilight Realm to kill Zant, which I assume he succeeded in doing. At least Zant was out of the way, so that much was good news.

All in all, in the past few months…my life has been a living hell. Not like it was that to begin with, but now it's worse.

My attitude has changed slightly as well, I would like to think.

Throughout the trainings, I could only find out one more fact about the Hero of Time. He wouldn't tell me anything else, which I found odd. Apparently, in the body that he was in now, he's 25 years old…and he never aged. Lucky.

I gained muscle like you wouldn't believe. Instead of struggling with doing even 10 pushups, I can now do 25 with somewhat ease. Basically, my stamina, muscles, attitude, and technique improved. Whatever fat I might have had on me, had turned into muscle. When (Note that I said _when_ not _if_) I get home, I'm going to officially announce that I fell somewhere and that I can't walk so I can sit all day on a wheelchair. Oh, and I'm going to pig out too. It probably won't work, but it's worth a shot…eh?

It is not like I'm not fed over here, but I miss chocolate and all of the junk food that we all know and love.

I was taught the ways of the sword, but I still hated swinging around a stupid metal rod. I was also taught how to do that twirlly sheath thing that both of them can do for hours on end. How? A little thing that I found was an excellent way to get information out of a male. Flirting. Oh, I am evil…I know.

For my dubbed 19th birthday (Hyrule didn't have the same monthly calendar as we do on Earth), I was given a new battle outfit from both of the new heroes. It was still black, but it had a lower V-neck (damn those male hormones…) and a bit more feminine, if you know what I mean. I still wore the same old blue shirt from earth underneath it though. I couldn't part without the thing, even if it was uncomfortable with the tunic on and I was boiling every second of my life here. They had also bought me somewhat matching black hiking boots (that were the right size. Freaky…) and a pair of black gloves.

I guessed the new outfit (boots and all) was around 100ish rupees, but when I asked they wouldn't tell me. Figures, huh?

Come to think of it…what is up with them buying me black stuff? Isn't that…you know…racist?

I also found a little bit more respect for the Hero of Time (as amazing it sounds, I know.) and that apparently has caused him to act somewhat normal now too. I don't call him Tights anymore, but I sometimes mutter 'Smartass' under my breath when I know he can't hear me. He, however, demands that I call him 'Master' for some odd reason that I would rather not know about. I still sometimes call him 'Smartass', because it is funny and he hates it when I call him that.

The Hero of Twilight (Or, Sane Link. I still call him that.) had long ago found the last Mirror of Twilight shard and apparently went into the Twilight Realm. He also said that he didn't transform into a wolf this time, which I thought was pretty cool. I was never fond of floating black squares, so I was glad that I didn't go into the Twilight Realm with him. I was actually allowed to join him again, but I stayed back.

During our break times, the Hero of Time would still joke about the supposed 'bond' between Sane Link, and me but he was just kidding. There really wasn't anything…right?

I'm in denial, I know.

Anyway…I tanned a lot more since I was in Hyrule, as you can probably guess. I still thought about home, and I still wanted to go back, but I didn't show it. Or, maybe I still do…I'm not sure. I hope I don't, otherwise I have to sit through another one of the Hero of Time's lectures. He liked talking, apparently.

Hm…What else happened in the last couple of months…?

Oh yeah. I officially announced what it was like on Earth, and what electricity was and all that. I don't think they understood anything, but I didn't bother on explaining things. They wouldn't understand it even if I did.

The Hero of Time also said that I could fight Ganondorf whenever I felt like it. Goody.

Speaking of Ganondorf, he never showed his head again. My guess what that he was probably in a dark corner of an alley somewhere, evilly plotting a plan of world domination. The boys' guesses were more believable than mine, but I still liked mine better. I mean come _on_! It would be funny.

We have moved out of the little 'court' in the forest and into Ordon. The Hero of Time still hanged around in the forest, saying that chaos would ensue if people saw two men who looked almost the exact same and who were not twins standing beside each other. Both would have the same name too. Not to mention the age difference.

Sane Link and I agreed to that. Every morning, we would head to the middle of the forest (right before the cave with the huge Venus fly trap guarding it) to meet up with the Smartass of Time. The Hero of Twilight and I would just walk past Mr. Fro (I forgot his actual name, thus I didn't talk to him when Sane Link would say 'hi') and into Hyrule Field.

The show-off though, would make himself turn invisible using his awesome magic skills and walk past Mr. Fro, not being noticed at all.

Epona, Sane Link's horse, would usually wait right there for us, and we would train in Hyrule Field or something along those lines. The Hero of Time never told us if he had a horse or not, but he tensed oddly when Sane Link told him his horse's name. I wonder if he had a horse named Epona too? I wouldn't put it past him.

Oh. Speaking of magic, Link had taught me how to summon Light Arrows, and had told me what the blue barrier was a long time ago. I had bugged him about it before, but he didn't listen to me until then. He called it 'Nayru's Love' and said that it would protect whoever cast it from wounds. Granted, being clubbed in the face would still hurt like hell…but there wouldn't be a wound or any physical damage.

He had also said that there are two more spells like that. Farore's Wind, which was basically a teleportation spell, and Din's Fire, which summoned a fire dome around you to sizzle your enemies or whatever got in the way.

He said that he couldn't teach me any of those, however. I still only knew how to create fire, ice, and light arrows. I couldn't do any of the extra awesome things that the Hero of Time can do with his magic though. I wondered why Sane Link couldn't use any magic, but I didn't get an answer when I asked.

At the beginning of my training, the Hero of Time had explained to me that Courage and Power would try to kill each other. We got into a few bloody fights. The first fight, only a week after he had explained this to me, he leapt on me in the middle of the night and tried to slit my throat. Power woke me up though, and I rolled out of the way. He snapped out of the 'trance' after that. It took me a month to trust him again. I hate the Triforce.

After that first fight, the Hero of Time warned me to be aware of even him. After all, I was the only one that could defeat Ganondorf and if I was dead…well….everybody else would be in trouble.

"Ter, you're spacing out again." Sane Link stated, jerking me out of my thoughts.

We were currently in my room at the new inn they just opened up. The two heroes had to share a room beside mine. There was a bathroom that connected our rooms, but for the sake of privacy, I kept my side of the bathroom locked. I was lying on the bed on my back while Sane Link lounged on the cough on the foot of the bed. Tights had his arms supporting his head while he relaxed in a bean-bag chair. A bean-bag chair! I did not know that they had those in Hyrule, but he had called it when we first went in the room. The room that the boys got only had a bed and a dresser, because it would save them money.

My room was the standard square shape, with the bed in the middle of the room. The couch that Sane Link is practically asleep in, is at the foot of said bed. The oh-so-awesome beanbag chair was in the far left hand corner of the room when one would observe the room from the hallway door. Above the door leading to the bathroom, was a banner that went all around the room that was in every single room of the inn. It had Hylian symbols on it which I couldn't read, Triforce pictures, and a rather crude drawing of the Hero of Time fighting a one-eyed spider. I assumed it was the Hero of Time anyway, even before he said that it was. He had also said that the monster he was fighting there was named Gohma that infected the Great Deku Tree, whatever that is. The wallpaper was an ugly shade of puke-green, to which I am currently cringing at. Again, what is up with the green? Is that their national colour in Hyrule or something?

"You have round ears, Terra…" noted Smartass randomly with almost no expression. He jerked me out of my thoughts too, I seemed to be spacing out a lot and thinking more lately. I wondered why.

I raised an eyebrow, "Uh…dude. I always had rounds ears. You didn't notice them before? Especially not when you decided to cut 3 quarters of my hair off with your sword?"

Oh yes. I almost forgot that part.

A month or two after I had started training, the Hero of Time had declared that my hair was getting too long (it was only half-way to my elbows…) and cut my hair short in a few swipes of the broadsword he always carried around so that the most my hair reached was the tip of my ears. He had grinned somewhat evilly after that, which earned him a rather hard slug from me. I don't think it hurt him much though, considering how much of a weakling I was back then.

I was jerked out of my thoughts (yet again), "Quit spacing out on us. I actually did notice, but at the time I didn't really care."

"Thanks, Smartass." I replied, bored out of my skull, sarcasm dripping from the words. We need a bucket here, people.

"No problem," Came the response from the Spandex-wearing man over there.

My hair had grown since then- but barely. It was now just past my ears, and I still looked like a guy from the back. They both had assured me many times though, that one could tell when they look at the face.

Pfft. Yeah. And at some other things too.

Oh. Speaking of the Hero of Time, he was wearing his red tunic. He complained the other day about the blue one getting 'annoying and that it brought back bad memories' I did not know what he was talking about, but didn't ask. 'Sane Link' was wearing his blue one this time. Speaking of that, I still had that Zora pendant that he gave to me a while ago. I wonder if it had any special powers.

With that thought in mind, I fished for it in a pocket at my side before grasping it. As soon as it came into view, both heroes' eyes widened in shock.

It was glowing a bright blue colour, and it was getting steadily warmer. I yelped and dropped it on the bed when it was about to burn my fingers. As soon as it left my hand, it stopped shimmering blue. Weird…

"That's the Zora's Saphirre! It needs to be kept with the other two Spiritual Stones in order for balance to be kept in place. At least you kept it safe, though."

I had no clue what the Hero of Time was talking about. I had no chance to argue with him anyway, because he jumped out of his seat and grabbed the pendant that was on a metal beaded string. He fell back into the bean bag chair, and I narrowed my eyes at him when he did so.

Sane Link and I had watched him tuck it into a small rear pouch that I didn't notice before. I assumed that was where the other two stones were.

Sane Link looked at me for help on what just happened, I just shrugged in response.

Silence reigned for a long time after that. There was faint snoring coming from the boys eventually, and I whimpered in self-pity. There was no way I would be able to sleep, now.

I yawned out of sheer boredom, and felt my eyes drooping. Only to widen when I finally thought of something really awesome for us to do together. I abruptly woke the two up to announce something. When they finally had gotten their wits back, I exclaimed,

"Hey, guys? You two know how to play freeze tag?"

**AN: Yeah. I'm good at making cliffhangers. As I've said before, this chapter was double in length, but I split them in two just because I could and because of a lack of hits on last chapter. Yeeeeah.**

**Also, next chapter is uploaded and ready to go (obviously. I mean, all I did was split this chapter into two...) so review or i'll never post it up! (evilly cackles)  
**

**Anyways, you know the drill.  
**


	24. Lack of Sanity

**AN: You know, I was going to wait until the 23rd of Feburary to post this (I just finished watching the movie The Number 23. It's awesome. XD) but I didn't want people to lost interest in this thing. I didn't even start writing the next chapter yet, so don't get excited.  
**

** On a pretty random note, hopefully in this chapter, the hits will exceed those of Rebel's. On another random note, calculus is slowly turning my brain into a mass of goo. :(**

**Last note, I promise. XD**

**The hits are still bad compared to what I had before. I know the story took a dramatic change in plot, but that's not excuse for a loss of 60 for chapter 22, and then a few more for chapter 23. Somebody explain what i'm doing wrong to those people? I like the way it's turning, f you don't like it...not my problem. Sorry for the attitude, but I won't stand to be pushed around anymore. Think of it as a...New Years resolution. **

** Fanfiction's really trying my patience...I'll shut up now. Read. **

_**Chapter 24**_

_**Lack of Sanity**_

It was ten minutes into the quest, and I was the only surviving one on the team of well…one…sent in the cave to rescue the helpless woman. I dashed left, right, and left again to successfully evade the searching and eager claws of the beast when it tried to capture me. I sprinted towards the terrified woman frozen in fear, intent on freeing her from her icy prison in the creature's lair.

The monster knew I was coming though, and cut me off from my chosen path. I black flipped a few times out of the way to avoid his long claws from splitting me into bloody ribbons of flesh and bone. No matter, I would have to find another way.

"Damn, Terra! You're quick on your feet!" The monster exclaimed at me, breathing heavily from all of the running he was forced to do.

Indeed, the monster was the Hero of Time and I had to rescue the damsel in distress. Namely, Sane Link. Which was utterly hilarious.

At least they weren't toying with me anymore. Now, I actually was a challenge for them to catch me.

I was only caught once though (in the first round, because I underestimated that they can jump pretty far), mostly because I was more agile than the two, and I could move around quicker.

In case if you are wondering whether I am mentally sane or not, I think my brain is still okay. We were playing a modified version of freeze tag to make it more interesting and fun.

To top it all off, the damsel in distress had to scream at the top of his/her lungs, calling for their savior.

Which was extremely comical to find an actual Hero doing that.

Back to the game, I ran right this time, slower than usual. I had a rather huge stitch in my left side, but that did not matter. I had to save the-

I snickered.

-princess from the evil jaws of the dragon.

The Hero of Time smirked when he realized my weakness and dashed towards me with a random burst of speed. Wasn't he tired a moment ago…? Whatever.

I only narrowed my eyes at him while he charged me. The Hero of Twilight squealed in a high pitched voice telling me to 'Get the frick out of the way!'

I mentioned that his language wasn't very lady-like, before trying to dodge the upcoming blob of green.

He dived at me, and I moved back a few giant steps just in time. Everything was in slow motion. It was really awesome.

His face came sliding up to my feet, I merely stepped around him and went to rescue the fair maiden from any more horrors, when the beast grabbed one of my ankles and roughly pulled that ankle back when my other foot was in the air. I did a face plant in the mud, making my face and my clothes all dirty.

My fingers were only a foot from the objective, and I groaned pitifully.

Now, it was my turn.

Well, damn it. I don't want to scream.

"Your turn."

"Damn it. No! Don't, don't _make_ me! Plea-" I was interrupted in my pathetic pleading when I felt an intense pain go up my arm.

I really loathed that stupid Triangle of Power.

Sane Link grunted from his relatively close x, y, and z coordinates from me and I noticed that his Triforce was hurting too. Da hell?

"What is it?" I managed to gasp out. The pain was getting worse each second.

"I…I don't know. Fuck, it hurts."

I momentarily forgot the pain and stared at Sane Link in shock. Is he feeling okay? He cussed. He never cusses.

I must be having an effect on him. Goody.

Just like that, the pain was gone.

I spit mud out of my mouth when I noticed it was there. That is really gross, dude. It tasted kind of like sand…but except wetter…

"That's really weird, Ter. The pain just sort of…left."

I nodded in agreement before looking down on my pitiful condition. Everything (practically) of me was covered in mud, because when Smartass grabbed me, he twisted my ankle ever so slightly so that I would go into the mud puddle instead.

Feeling wet, dirty, and utterly miserable, I grumbled a few curses under my breath and went to stand up when…

"Wow, Terra. You look like hell. You sure you don't want to…you know…take off all your clothes so you can bathe in that shallow lake over there?" I could practically _smell_ the smirk on his face. Sane Link laughed a bit, but was silenced by my quick glare.

"Smartass, shut up before I make you." I huffed, trying my best not to blush and trying to pick up the remaining shards of my dignity. I crossed my arms over my chest in though. Why? I have no clue. Force of habit, probably.

He was, of course, referring to the ankle-deep 'lake' in the middle of the most southern part of Hyrule Field.

"Oh, is that a challenge?"

"Yeah, it is. Bring it on."

A smirk, "Fine. Your lover over there can decide on what we can compete against to see who is the top carnivore."

I blinked at his random stupidity, "Fine with me." I didn't even bother whining about the 'lover' remark, it wasn't worth my breath anymore. He wouldn't stop anyway.

We both looked at Sane Link expectantly for some sort of answer.

His eyebrows furrowed in thought for a few minutes, and I found myself humming the jeopardy song quietly before he _finally_ came up with something.

"Arm wrestle."

Well, shit. Thank god I was right handed, but I can use my left arm just as well.

---

I mourned over my quick loss at the arm wrestle. Granted, Smartass had let me almost win, but then he brought down my arm in one fell swoop.

"You're just a sore loser, Terra." Boasted the Hero of Time from beside me. I was lying on the ground on my back. The winner of the arm wrestle was sitting up beside me, and Sane Link was on the other side of me looking at something in the distance. He probably spaced out again.

"Am not, besides…you cheated." I huffed under my breath.

"How so? I don't recall giving you false hope cheating…"

I rolled my eyes, "Too bad, it's cheating now."

"Sore loser. Rematch?"

"Am not, and no."

"That's only because you don't want to lose again."

"Jackpot. You figure that out all on your own, _Tights_?"

His eye twitched. Yes! Scratch that off of the 'Things I Must Do Before I Die List' "I will let you win."

"No you won't. Besides, even if you somehow found the heart in you _somewhere_ to let me win, it wouldn't be fun because then I couldn't boast in your face like you're doing now."

"Ah, that true. Sucks for you then." Came the nice and heartwarming response from the Hero of Time.

I was still muddy, and the mud had now dried on my clothes and most of my skin, making it feel weirder than it did before. I'll take a bath or something later.

'_Where?'_

Quit doing that, dude.

'_I never did this in awhile, and where?'_

Where what?

'_Where are you going to take your bath…?'_

Upon seeing my playful smirk twist into a pissed-off/disturbed frown, he quickly added,

'_So that I can prevent lover-boy from peeking. I would be like your…your…bodyguard'_

Bodyguard, my ass. Nice try.

'_Damn. And thanks, I try.'_

I swear, my habit of swearing almost every second sentence apparently rubbed off of both of them. Which, I am not sure, is such a good thing anymore.

I nevertheless grinned at the attitude of the 'Master' but cursed him under my breath anyway.

Ah, the joys of hormones.

**AN: Innuendoes galore! XD**

**Sorry, but I just felt like it. Besides, I was starting to miss Smartass' attitude already. . **

**About the game and the modified version of it…yeah…I played that in elementary school with my buddies. It's a ton more fun with three people screaming instead of just one…**

**And yes, even heroes are allowed to play games. Even when Hyrule is at stake. **

**Ah, I crack myself up. XD**

**I'll shut up now and let you **_**review**_**though. Till next time!**


	25. Bad Omen

**AN: There's a _new poll _up, so please _vote_ when you get the chance! This chapter isn't funny though, and finally some more plot elements! We're getting close to the finale, guys….or are we? (cackles)**

** Results of last poll:**

** Who do you think is going to die, or who do you want to die in Awakening to Hyrule?**

**1. 'Smartass' (Hero of Time) - 6 votes (46)**

**2. Neither - 5 votes (38)**

**3. Doesn't matter - 1 vote (7)**

**4. Other (PM me...) to which, said person who voted 'other' didn't PM me. - 1 vote (7)**

** and the rest (Terra, 'Sane Link', All Three, and Don't Care) all had zippo. (zero) **

**Wow...either i'm missing something here, or you guys really hate 'Smartass' Trust me, and I'm giving a major hint here, he's not a useless character. He plays a rather...big role in the future. **

**This was going to take an extra week for me to post, but I _knew_ that I would have felt bad...so here it is! **

_**Chapter 25**_

_**Bad Omen**_

_I shifted before feeling an intense pain run up the arm with that accursed Triforce. What was happening? I looked around, but that didn't help. All I saw was darkness, like I was in an endless void._

_I heard two voices coming from somewhere in the distance. One sounded like a man's, angry and desperate, while the other voice sounded female, terrified and crying. _

_Unexpectantly, a tree materialized in front of my face, causing me to yelp and jump back in shock. _

_An eyebrow raised on its own accord when I noticed that I was in a dark foggy forest instead of the black void. _

_A woman's scream pierced the night air and ripped through it with ease. Without thinking, I dashed towards the source of the sound. Stumbling on only a few roots and rocks along the way, I reached the destination only to gasp out in horror. _

_A dark cloaked man stood over a young woman in a pink dress. A sword was protruding out of the young woman's chest, and as she took her last breath, her gaze turned to me. Something in the back of my memory clicked and nagged me about something, but I did not know what._

_The act of the now-dead woman attracted the attention of the cloaked figure. He turned his wicked gaze onto me, and holding his left arm up, a Triangle shone brightly on the back of his hand. _

"_Heh, Heh. Foolish girl. You're next."_

---

I screamed. I mean, wouldn't you?

The act of me screaming woke up the Hero of Time causing him to unsheathe his sword and instantly move into a battle ready stance. From the darkness, his muscles twitched in anticipation.

I stared at him. Just_ how_ does he do that so quickly?

The Hero of Time visually relaxed when no enemy was in sight, and instead turned his gaze to me with a simple phrase that came out of his mouth, "What happened?"

Shivering, I answered. "A bad dream. Really bad."

The simple action of me shivering concerned the Hero of Time, so therefore he asked, "What was it about?"

I turned my gaze to the floor of the room in the inn, intending on keeping silent about the matter.

After a moment of silence, a desperate voice tore its way through my stubborn front. "Terra, I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened."

A groggy voice came from the corner of the room at the exact moment, too. "What happened?"

The Hero of Time, seeing that I wasn't going to supply the answer again, answered for me. "Terra had a bad dream, and she's freaked."

Sane Link walked closer. I faintly noted that he was shirtless and that his muscles rippled as he stretched, but at the moment, I didn't give a damn. That…dream…

"Really? What was it about?"

"I don't know, she won't tell us." The Hero of Time turned to me, "Terra, it might be a prophetic dream of sorts, and it could be important?"

I blinked, trying to recall the dream. I'd better tell them before I forgot, because that would not be good.

A shaking breath rushed past my lips, before I began the retelling of the nightmare, "I was in a dark void of sorts. The next thing I knew, a forest appeared around me. I heard a blood curdling scream come from somewhere, and I ran towards the sound." A pause and then, "I witnessed the murder of a young woman by a black cloaked man. The man had a glowing Triforce piece, that we can only assume as the Triforce of Wisdom, too. He looked and me, and said that I was next."

A pause, and then Sane Link asked, "What was the woman wearing?"

As soon as the words, 'A pink dress' came out of my mouth, a collected gasp came from the two heroes.

"Guys? Are you going to fill me in, or are you going to keep me in the dark?" I muttered, after watching them stare at each other for a minute or two.

"She was…Princess Zelda. The Princess…is in…danger…" The Hero of Time muttered. He sounded partially mad, and partially sad about something.

A few moments of silence passed, the air frigid and giving off a feeling of dread, before the Hero of Time spoke again. "If he- Ganondorf – can show the Triforce like that…"

"…Then the Princess is already dead." Sane Link finished.

"And if he said that you're next-" The metallic ring of a sword exiting a sheath rang through the dark room, "-we need to move. Now." The Hero of Time practically pulled me to my feet and dragged me out of the door.

---

When we reached the door, Sane Link went to reach for the door handle, but I saw a whisp of smoke seep out from the crack under the door.

I gasped and grabbed his wrist, causing it to stop on the spot. I explained myself, "There must be a fire out there, because I saw some smoke…" I trailed off.

"Move, you two." Came the raspy voice of the Hero of Time.

We compiled. The Hero of Time charged at the door, like a raging bull would do to a person, pulled back at the last second, and kicked it open. It looked pretty impressive, but what was beyond that door was not.

Fire. Death. Destruction. Everywhere. Everything went in a blur after that, I couldn't remember much. I remember my name being frantically called, an intense pain go up my 'Triforce arm' before being dragged again by the Hero of Time while Sane Link fought off some monsters trying to get at us. I remember being shoved onto a chestnut coloured horse that looked similar to Epona. It's not like I passed out…I just couldn't…_remember_.

Oh. One detail was obvious than the others. There were lots of redeads, as if…as if…all the townpeople all got turned into them in one night by some cliche curse of something.

---

After we got a good distance away from the castle, I heard the panicked whinny of another horse beside us. Sane Link has been following us closely on Epona, all the while fighting off beasties. The Hero of Time didn't help – he just rode his poor horse as hard as he could.

Sane Link gasped from on top his mount, "I…I think...I think we...lost them."

Huh. I hoped we lost them.

---

After having the situation explained to me many times, I drew a final conclusion: That I was going to have to fight Ganondorf in exactly two days. Not even the cliché three days. No. Two days. Lucky me, eh?

As if knowing that my horrible death will be coming in two days, Ganondorf would be searching desperately for the last two Triforce pieces, which meant that Sane Link and I had to kept on our guard at all times. There is no time for games anymore.

The death of Princess Zelda bore down on all of us like a bad omen, particularly the Hero of Time, who had a haunted look on his features, once the adrenaline left our bodies.

One question, of all others floating around in my brain, made itself dominant: What would happen to Hyrule now…with no heir?

**AN: Short chapter, yeah. I thought that was a good place to stop. Also, it builds suspense. Yeah. The last paragraph of two both have bad wording. So, sue me. :P**

**I'll try not to take a month next time to update, savvy? Just **_**review**_**, and I'll be happy. :D**

**Remember this simple equation: Reviews Me x chapter hits happy author. Therefore: Good. XD**


	26. Intuition

**AN: (Gulps) Uh….hey?**

**Sorry for the late update and the short update. Hey, at least I updated…right? Plot elements in this one. **

_**Chapter 26**_

_**Intuition**_

The Hero of Time kicked a rather large sized rock in frustration, "The princess is de-"

Unfortunately, when his foot connected with said rock, it didn't move. The Hero of Time swore as the pain shot up his foot, and I couldn't help but snicker at him.

The great Hero of Time, beaten by a mere rock. Oh man, he's never going to live that one down.

He shot a glare in my direction but continued to mutter to himself as I, Sane Link, and the Hero of Time traveled through the vast, but empty, western portion of Hyrule Field.

The death of Princess Zelda hit us hard, and we were still mourning over the loss a few days later.

"It's all my fault, I should have been there to protect her…"

I sighed and tried to ease his worries, "Link," both of the heroes turned to me. I felt my cheeks redden in embarrassment and I pointed meekly at the Hero of Time for clarification. A look of understanding came over both of their features, so I continued.

"You couldn't have done anything to save her, and I know you're taking this pretty hard but-"

The Hero of Time exploded, "'But' what, Terra? The Princess is dead, there is no heir to Hyrule, and even if 'we' do manage to defeat Ganondorf, then what? Hyrule will still be is disarray and it is all my fault."

"Time, I don't think it is your fault at all. As far as I am concerned, it was meant to happen, and as bad as a situation we are in right now…we need to think positive." The Hero of Twilight pushed his way into our argument to avoid any 'accidental' bloodshed.

That didn't work at all though, because the Hero of Time just turned his angry gaze from me onto 'Sane' Link. "What do you know about what isn't my fault and what is? I already failed one Zelda before, in my lifetime, and now I've failed another one! If we would have just not trained Terra and just charged right in, she would have still be alive! It would not be surprising to see that Zelda would still be alive if _she_," he pointed at me, as if I didn't exist, "Didn't even _come_ here!"

Something inside me sparked in a fury of anger and self-pity and I growled back, "Smartass, don't be stupid. It is not like I wanted to come here _at all_. Life on Earth, where I came from, was great and a hell of a lot better than life in this _hellhole_. Especially when apparent past heroes are going to have mental breakdowns."

Link err…the Hero of Time, was about to draw his sword and probably try to divide me in enough pieces to rival a slinky, but the Hero of Twilight drew his own and put it at the distressed hero's throat which caused 'Smartass' to freeze in his tracks.

"Okay, now you're just being irrational. What happened to the excellent and funny guy that was around before? The Princess is dead, we know, but there is nothing we can do about it. The only thing we _can_ do though, is to get revenge against Ganondorf and kill him once and for all."

I started to argue again, but he just spoke over me. "That is why we trained Terra in the first place. There is still a chance that she could fail, and then we won't have that revenge. And, if you would have cut her into ribbons, then there would have been _no_ chance for revenge. That is why, we are _going_ to work together and not try to kill each other."

I opened my mouth to try to argue again, but I stopped myself.

He was right. We were both being childish, and there is still a chance that I could…die.

That's not much of a confidence booster, you know.

Instead of feeling anger and rage against the Hero of Time, that anger quickly turned into fear and nervousness. I could still die. There is still a high chance, even with the training I was put through.

The Hero of Time's rage-stricken face calmed down somewhat and he murmured, "Yeah, you're right, Twilight." He turned to me, "Sorry for…bursting out at you like that. I was being a bastard."

I blinked and accepted his apology hesitantly.

All of a sudden, Sane Link's shadow twisted and inversed. Midna appeared.

What the hell? _Midna?_

Oh yeah, she's still here.

She grinned a toothy grin, "I was about to hit you both with shadow magic to make you stop bickering. Even though I had only known Zelda a short time, I still feel terrible that she had to die, but that is destiny, I guess."

The voice of the Hero of Twilight broke through the silence. "Midna, where were you? We all thought you had…gone or something." The imp just snickered and shrugged before responding, "I was sleeping."

…"You sleep that much?"

"Yeah."

A few minutes of silence passed by, and something crossed my mind. "Hey uh…just throwing it out there, but wasn't I supposed to fight Ganondorf by now? Didn't we decide before that I was going to fight him in two days a few days ago?"

Silence for a little bit and then, "Yes, but that was before I had a 'mental breakdown' like you said. Besides, you're not quite ready yet."

My jaw dropped, and I had to pick it up from the ground. "I'm not _ready_ yet?"

He smirked at me, "Nope. You will be though, very shortly. Now, I need to tell you two a very important story."

It was my turn to smirk teasingly now, "Oh so…it's not like one of your 'life stories'?"

"Unfortunately, no. This one, is a story about the castle that I had to go through to beat Ganondorf when I was as young as your man over there…"

Sensing that his tale was going to be a long one, both of us sat down on the grass to listen.

"Now, as I told you before, I had to free six sages to help my conquest against Ganondorf."

I nodded, "Yeah. Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit…right?"

He glared at me for interrupted, but moved his head up and down anyway. "That is correct. Anyway, when Shiek summoned me to the Temple of Time, I knew something was terribly wrong. She explained that she really was Princess Zelda in disguise and apologized that she had to give me advice from the shadows but it was too dangerous for her as a Princess to be running around. She eventually gave me the light arrows before being taken hostage by Ganondorf."

The Hero of Time paused to take a breath, before continuing. "Now, I was terrified that I would be too late to save Princess Zelda, so I charged into that floating castle, with my fairy, Navi, in tow. With the help of the sages that I had freed, a bridge was made that enabled me to actually go into the black castle."

Another pause, probably to take another breath and to gather his thoughts. "The trials that were waiting for me in the castle were…challenging. I had to destroy an evil barrier by rescuing the sages again, before I could continue. I had to collect silver rupees, cross abysses, walk through fire, solve a puzzle of ice in a few minutes, and fight monsters. Eventually, the barrier was broken and I was allowed to go on through."

He paused, and Sane Link took that time to ask, "So…you had to go through those temples again to free the sages?"

The Hero of Time shook his head, "No. There were mini-dungeons that I had to conquer though. Let me finish before there are any more questions."

We both nodded in understanding, and he continued his story. "Making my way through fire Keese and Iron Knuckles, I managed to reach Ganondorf by climbing a whole bunch of stairs. He tried to take my Triforce of Courage, but I held fast and we locked in battle."

"His first attack was easily countered because it was the same kind of magic that was used against me in the Forest Temple with Phantom Ganon. I had to deflect the magic balls back at him, and then shoot him with a Light Arrow before charging in to slash at him with the Master Sword."

The Sword vibrated and pulsed in response, as if reliving the memory.

The Hero of Time sighed, "When he had finally gone down, we had thought it was over until the castle started to shake and rumble from underneath our feet. The Princess noticed that Ganondorf was using his last breath to bring down the castle with us inside it, so we had to escape as soon as possible."

He visibly shuddered, "I barely made it out of the door before the castle caved in. The battle wasn't over yet, though. With his last strength and with the Triforce of Power, Ganondorf had turned himself into a giant boar-like monster and tried to kill me that way. He almost did."

Another shudder, but the Master Sword vibrated in time with his shudder and it pulsed again. They were both reliving the memory, apparently.

"He knocked the Master Sword out of my hands, as I was forced to fight him using any other weapons that I had on me. After shooting him in the eyes a few times with the Light Arrows, I was able to get the Master Sword back to seal him away because we were not strong enough to defeat him completely."

A pause. Wind played with my hair and tickled my chin as I thought about what the Hero of Time had to go through. I hoped I didn't have to do that.

Midna yawned. Yep, she was still around unfortunately. "That's a nice story and all but…what does that have to do with us?"

The Hero of Time glared at the cocky imp before answering, "A lot, more than you would think. I have a feeling that history will be repeating itself, and for the next day or two…I will teach Terra how to fight pure evil by running her though the steps I had to take to seal the Evil King."

**AN: And…BAM!**

**There's another chapter, hope ya enjoyed it. If you haven't voted in the latest poll yet, do that now. So far, people want more fluffiness. I'll try to squeeze some in, but I don't think I will be able too. **

**Yeah, Midna randomly appeared in this chapter. I felt that she wasn't getting any ice-time (XD) at all, so I decided to plop her in there. **

**Hey, you know what's funny. Up there (beginning) I put, 'The Hero of Time exploded'. As soon as I wrote that, I had an image of him exploding after Terra finished her sentence. Funny stuff. XD**

**Anyways…Review, please! **


	27. Diabolical Intructions

**AN: Yes. To those who got the 'New Chapter' alert, I 'm updating this at 1:30ish AM? Why? Cause, I'm a crazy Canadian...THAT'S why. XD**

**On another note. I've got a sequel in mind. Whoo.**

**As for the latest poll results:**

**Fluffiness is pwning the competition. Go figure. (I'm too lazy...and tired...to find the numbers.) **

**Gotta love that title! **

_**Chapter 27**_

_**Diabolical Instructions**_

The Hero of Time couldn't have been more right when he said that I would undergo harsh training for the next two days. I had to familiarize myself with the many techniques and strategies that he used during his lifetime, and even taught me how to do that twirl -sheath thing with the sword that both heroes knew how to do! 

Not everything was fun and games, obviously. Both of the Heroes taught me of the ways of the sword, and had me back-flip and evade many attacks that both Heroes threw at me. The Hero of Time explained that Ganondorf might change his strategy around a little bit, but for the most part…it should stay the same. 

He didn't sound so sure on that. That is what scares me.

Both of them insisted that I practice using the Master Sword – a sword that I was scared of the moment I touched it. The hilt was as cold as ice, and I felt a piercing pain slither its way up my arms only to fade away when it reached my body. 

When I told the Hero of Time about this, he just shrugged and said that it was probably the Sword's way of saying that it did not like me. Oh joy, now my life basically depends on a Sword that doesn't like me. 

I felt the same excruciating pain dart through me that jerked me out of my thoughts.

"Terra! Pay attention!"

As soon as my annoyed gaze settled on Sane Link, he lunged at me. 

My eyes widened in alarm, and I quickly dodged to the right only to have the Hero of Time block my path. I had no choice but to hurtle to the left. Which, unfortunately, caused a tree and I to make close…and painful…friends. 

The Hero of Twilight burst out laughing, and the other hero joined with him. I growled under my breath and got up, only to find out…that I couldn't!

I couldn't help it. Even though the Hero of Time had repeatedly taught me to not panic or freak-out. Too bad I didn't remember any of the skills that he taught me to avoid said panic. 

I felt my heart beat faster from fright and my stomach churn in pain and disgust when I realized that I might be partially paralyzed. To test my theory, I wiggled a toe. 

I could barely move it, but still…

"Terra…get…up…you're…f…f…fine." The Hero of Time exclaimed though spews of laughter. 

"Why can't I move?" I wailed, rather pitifully.

The Hero of Twilight smirked, "You can. It was just a spell cast by Time." A pause, and before I could get up and pummel them both, he added, "Sorry, but we need to tell you something else that is important."

'Time' was Sane Link's nickname for the Hero of Time.

Sighing and mumbling death threats under my breath, I slowly got up – I grinned when I realized I could move again, picked up the Master Sword from its upright position in the ground, and made my way over to the two heroes tiredly.

When I reached them, I plopped down on the somewhat rough grass with a grunt of frustration and discomfort.

"Okay, as you've just experienced, a paralyzing spell was cast on you." 

I grunted in reply. Sane Link just snickered and continued, "I believe Ganondorf can use that spell too, but except it will be stronger and there is a chance that he could permanently paralyze you."

A pause. A longer one this time. I took advantage of it and thought about what he just said. Paralyze me forever, eh?

"Yeah, that's right Twilight." The Hero of Time confirmed Sane Link's hypothesis, and added in his own comments. "Now, its time for you," he turned to me. "To learn how to fight off such spells."

Oh great. Another lesson?

---

I shivered as the bitter dusk air nipped at my bare skin. I couldn't care less though, because I was exhausted. I never knew that spell defense would be so…tire…some.

A burst of heat overflowed my senses and my eyes snapped open in alarm. I gazed at the now flickering fire-pit and a grinning Hero of Time. Well, damn him. He could have _warned_ me and used his _words_. 

"I noticed you were cold, because you were shivering, so I made fire." I could practically _taste_ – I'm hungry – the sarcasm and mockery in his voice.

I gave him a deadpanned look, before letting my head fall by to the earth resulting in a thump. 

"Smartass," my voice was muffled by the grass, "When I get my hands on you…you're a dead man."

I must have said something hilarious unintentionally, because they both burst out laughing. 

"No…I'm…I'm…a_lucky_ man!" The Hero of Time gasped out between laughter. 

I felt my face heat up in a blush when I realized that my threat had a double meaning. 

My natural response to embarrassment, however, is anger. "Smartass, you know damn well I didn't mean it in that way." I paused, and spoke louder through the grass. "Now get your lazy ass over here so I can hit you."

A short pause and then, "No."

I sighed, "Why not?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The Hero of Time's voice was laced with humour. "I don't want to be vanquished by your wrath."

He was being sarcastic.

My frustration level was getting to dangerously high levels but I only muttered another death-threat under my breath, rolled over onto my back with my head resting on my arms, and closed my eyes in another attempt to sleep. 

That dwindling hope was finally shattered by one of the heroes, "You know, Terra, that I won't let you sleep tonight."

I can never tell their voices apart with my eyes closed. They are so alike, it's freaky. 

"Why?" was my simple question.

It was answered by, I assume, the same person, "The battle with Ganondorf will most likely be long and tough, with no breaks in between." The last part was covered in humour. 

"What does that have to do with me sleeping now?"

"You need to increase your tolerance to tiredness." Okay. I knew that voice. It was Midna. Only she had horrible vocabulary like that. 

**AN: Somewhat fluffiness (not really), another Midna appearance, and more description! I used a thesaurus for this one, and I learned a few cool words :D**

…**I'm such a nerd. XD**

**You know what make me fume with anger? Word keeps on saying that the word 'Humour' is spelled wrong. **

**It's not, damn it! That's how Canadians spell it! Stupid Americans…don't know how to spell right... (Just kidding:P)**

**I'd say this is the…thirdish last chapter? Yeah. Something like that. **

**Holy Mackinaw! (Holy Shit!) This author note's huge! I'll shut up now. **

**Review, eh? **


	28. Wasteland

**AN: Hehe. You guys have NO idea how **_**close**_** I was to putting up an April Fool's joke saying that this story was discontinued. But then my common sense kicked in, and I figured I would probably lose a couple of people in the chaos of explaining to people that it was just a joke. :D**

**More description in this one, and it's longer! Whoo! **

**Oh. This chapter reminds me of 'Desert Storm' (one of my oneshots.) You'll see why. **

**Fluffiness is still winning in the poll. Sequel has 2 votes at the time of typing, fluffiness 7 at the time or typing, and action/epic stuff has 3…at the time of typing. Anyway…**

_**Chapter 28**_

_**Wasteland**_

The scorching sun glared down at us causing sweat to form on my back and behind my neck. We have been traveling the somewhat barren wasteland called the Gerudo Desert for the past couple of days, and you know what the worst part is?

The Hero of Time won't even tell us why we have been suffering the past few moons under sizzling conditions with only a minimal amount of water for all three of us.

Sane Link's voice was raspy as he asked, "Where are all of the boars that used to call the Desert home?"

I could only shrug in reply as I desperately tried to keep up with the two Heroes, all the while wondering if I really could defeat Ganondorf like I was destined to if I couldn't even last a few days in a barren land.

The Hero of Time glanced back at me with an exasperated frown when he realized I was falling behind, "Terra, pick up the pace!"

I scowled and repeated his words in a high-pitched voice, which earned me a glare from the Hero of Time.

Sighing in defeat, I surveyed our surroundings with dull eyes. Nothing but sand as far as the eye could see. Of course, I wasn't expecting anything different.

The sounds of frantic gulping pushed me out of my thoughts as I watched the Hero of Twilight guzzle the rest of his water. He turned to look at me with a look that said 'This sucks.'

My thoughts started to wander as I stared at the back of the Hero of Time in mild hatred. He didn't even _look_ tired. Of course, he was a shade, so I didn't think he even needed to perform the basic functions that a human would need to do to survive. I didn't even understand how he managed to get into his 'true form', and I don't think that Sane Link knew what was up with that either.

As if I had thought something insulting, I felt a pulse of pain flow through my body coming from the Master Sword that was strapped onto my back. The Hero of Twilight was carrying his old sword that he got from Ordon, and the Hero of Time had a two-handed blade called the Biggoron Sword. He wasn't surprised when Sane Link and I both said that we never heard of it.

I turned my head ninety degrees to glare at the dark blue hilt as it bounced up and down against my back for every step I took, before beginning to scan our surroundings again.

Thoughts and memories filled my head as I began to ponder what has happened to me ever since I got transported to this world by that book in the dentist's office. The fact that I had managed to survive thus far still surprised me, but I often found myself wondering if my 'allergy to death' will wear out during my fight with Ganondorf.

Of course, the death of the Princess Zelda still wore down on us like some sort of bad omen, but we decided to put that past us until we defeated Ganondorf. It made sense, because we didn't want thoughts involving grief, guilt, and sadness created due to Princess Zelda's tragic (and sudden) death to get in the way of our conquest against the Evil King, so we all agreed to 'try and forget about it for awhile', as Sane Link put it.

A sudden pang of homesickness smacked me in the face at the thought of my family back on Earth, and I gasped when I realized that I had somehow managed to forget about them ever since I got brought to Hyrule. Guilt began to settle at the bottom of my stomach when I came to that conclusion, and I swore right there and then-

"Terra. Quit thinking, seriously." I heard the Hero of Time mutter underneath his breath. I narrowed my eyes at his back, determined to drill a hole through his spine with my glare.

"I guess you wouldn't know how thinking feels, because you've never done it." The snappy retort shot out of my mouth aimed directly at the Hero of Time.

He muttered something else underneath his breath and then spoke up, "Whatever. Just hurry up, we are almost there." Grinning at my victory in the verbal battle, I realized that I was falling further behind, so I forced my legs to pick up the pace even if they were screaming bloody murder from all of the walking I was forced to do.

"Almost where, Time? We've been traveling like this, only to stop at night, for the past few days. What's going on?" The Hero of Twilight curiously questioned the Hero's 'Shade'.

A pause…and then, "Oh. I forgot. I guess you two wouldn't know about the Gerudo race that used to dominate this land."

I sighed, muttering under my breath, "Oh great. Another story"

The Hero of Time heard me - I'm sure of it - but decided to ignore me and started yet another tale. "This one is short. The Gerudos were a race of all-females who were partially loyal to Ganondorf. After I proved myself worthy of them, they allowed me to become a member of their clan so I could travel to the Spirit Temple to awaken the last Sage."

The Hero of Time took a breath as we both listened in interest, "After I had awakened Nabroou, the Spirit Sage, the Gerudo race swore that they would help me whenever they could in the future to repay their debt that they owed me because I cleared their temple from monsters and evil."

Another pause. I opened my mouth to ask what this had to do with our current quest, but he talked over me. "When we arrive at the Gerudo fortress, I want you two to not talk and just follow my lead." He looked back at me, "Terra. I want you to keep the hand with the Triforce of Power hidden at all times, because they will think you are a recarnation of Ganondorf and try to kill you." I nodded in understanding, slightly shaken at the thought of me being slaughtered by a hoard of angry women, but kept my composure.

"These woman aren't to be messed around with." The Hero of Time added as an afterthought, and I briefly wondered what had happened to him in the past with these women.

--

A few hours later, a dark brown fortress came into view just as the sun started to set and the temperature cooled down by a few degrees, much to my relief.

I gulped in nervousness when I spotted the sharp scimitar that the desert woman had on her hip. I could help but look at her attire as I shuddered in intimidation.

The woman was wearing a two-piece set of armor that was skin-tight which was made of boar hide. The woman had a slender frame, but it was muscular too. She had bright red hair and deeply tanned skin as she scrutinized us in suspicion. She barked, "Membership card."

I flinched at her voice, and the Hero of Time was about to respond but the Gerudo cut him off. "I was asking _her_ not _you_, you piece of man-filth!" She growled out at the Hero of Time and he held up his hands in defeat as he stepped back beside Sane Link who was staring at the woman like she was a goddess or something.

I blinked in nervousness when she narrowed her eyes at me, "Membership card."

The Master Sword pulsed that sent a peaceful shiver down my spine as if to try to give me comfort.

"I will give you five seconds to show me the card before I divide you and your two pieces of dung into ribbons." The woman threatened in a menacing voice.

My started beating at a rapid pace, while my breathing became ragged as the Gerudo woman started counting up.

"One."

I heard a mutter coming from Sane Link from his position behind me. The Hero of Time opened his mouth to say something, but the Gerudo spoke over him.

"Two."

Panic continued to make its way through my body, causing the Master Sword to pulse to try and calm me down again.

"Thr-"

"Wait, Miss, I'm the Hero of Time and these are-" Said Hero tried to explain, to the raving woman.

That ticked the woman warrior off, "Don't you know your place, you _man_? Do you have any idea what men have brought into this race of all-woman? Nothing but suffering and trouble, I tell you!"

That was when my Triforce decided it was a great place to let itself be known to the woman by letting out a high-pitched shriek successfully making me shudder from the weird feeling that I got at the pit of my stomach that something was horribly wrong.

She held her ears in pain and her eyes shot to the hand that had the Triforce imprinted on it.

"Let me see your hand." She ordered.

I hid it behind my back again. Her eyes narrowed as she swore, "Let me see your damn hand, you whelp!"

The woman unsheathed her scimitar, which caused both heroes to draw their swords, which caused the Master Sword to bounce up and down on my back like an excited little kid while pulsing. It wanted out of its scabbard.

I forgot to mention, before we got into view of the fortress, the Hero of Time had me put a cloth over the hilt of the Master Sword because he said that it would help to avoid trouble.

The woman's sharp eyes caught the sword move, though. "You! With the moving sword! Show your true identity at once!"

As if her words were…well…magic, a dozen guards came running out from the wooden gates of the fortress all with scimitars and pissed off looks on their faces.

The Heroes went on each side of me and held out both of their swords in the defense position as if that would do anything to protect me from a horrible death-by-angry-women-with-swords-and-probably-more-experience-with-them-then-I-could-ever-have.

The first Gerudo that met use was about to issue the order to attack, when another voice rang out from the fortress entrance. "Link!? Is that you?"

All eyes turned to the source of the voice and I recognized her immediately. The Hero of Time had described her to the bone. Nabroou.

…Wasn't she dead?

The first Gerudo glared at me, again, before turning back to the Sage. "Queen. These three were trying to invade into the fortress."

The so-called-Queen ignored her warrior though and walked up to the Hero of Time who had weird look on his face.

"Link! Why brings you to the land of the Gerudos, how are you still alive, and who are these two?"

The Hero of Time muttered something underneath his breath as he gestured to Sane Link. "Long story." A quick pause, "This, is the Hero of Twilight, also named Link, and over here," he pointed at me, "Is-"

I couldn't listen anymore, because the Triforce of Power suddenly shot the pain equivalent of a roaring wildfire through my arm causing me to drop to one knee in shock, not able to utter a sound. The Triforce let out a stream of unidentifiable clicks and high-pitched noises as the pain continued to increase and slither across my whole body. I grasped that same hand as it started to twitch uncontrollably in an effort to stop the random twitching. A series of gasps came form the woman as they all recognized the Triforce of Power shimmering a pale red on the back of my hand. I tried to hide it, but I knew that they all saw it.

The Master Sword, as if tired of being hidden, managed to shake off its hilt cover and pulsed in an effort to try and stop the pain.

It didn't work.

Sweat started to pour out from my glands, more than it already was, like a waterfall and my breathing became uneven and ragged from the intense pain that I was experiencing.

I barely felt somebody's hand on my back. As if the simple action really did anything, the pain disappeared as fast as it came, slowly trickling down to a flickering candle flame instead of a roaring bonfire.

My muscles finally gave way causing me to collapse onto my stomach, thus causing me to whimper out in pain. Nabroou, after some time, spoke. "Young lady, who are you…what are you, and why do you have the Triforce that belonged to That Man?"

I opened my mouth to respond, still breathing irregularly, but still unable to speak because I felt lightheaded. My vision started to fade at that exact moment, and I felt myself falling onto the sand. Darkness consumed me.

**AN: Gerudos! XD**

**They need to include them in more games, because really, they kick major ass. **

**Just to clarify…this chapter is NOT an April Fool's joke. **

**Oh, some might say that the 'type of pain' that Terra had is a 'copy' of the story 'Dark Futures' (which is an awesome story, by the way.)**

**It's not. You'll see why later. **

**Review, please! :D**


	29. Stronghold

**AN: I feel so…**_**violated**_**. In one day, I had both my flash-drive (which had valuable files on it) and my silver ring that I got from P.E.I a few years ago _stolen_. I would prefer not to explain **_**how**_** as the stories are embarrassing but…**

**Bah. I hate my school.**

**In other news, a reviewer had said that last chapter had 'a few strange C's that have two lines through them, an a with an upside-down v above it, and some sorta Tm thing. Yeah.' **

**...When I checked, I didn't see any of those mentioned above by the reviewer...anybody else notice anything? I HAVE noticed Fanfiction messing up my underline formatting and spacing when I upload, and saving it seemed to get rid of it no matter how many times I fix and update it. Again, is this the same for everybody else? **

_**Chapter 29**_

_**Stronghold**_

_It was around me. I couldn't escape. Someone was screaming my name, while another was pleading me to go to him. Go to the darkness. Not knowing whom to follow, I felt panic course through my veins, and the natural reaction to that, is to go into the fetal position and weep. That is exactly what I did. _

_Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. I shouldn't be here. I should be back in Hyrule, with my friends, and not surrounded by Shadow. _

"_Terra. You filthy traitor!" A voice pierced through the darkness. "I thought I could trust you! I thought you were my friend! I-" The voice paused, as if unsure. "I loved you."_

_My eyes widened when I recognized the voice. It was Link. Sane Link._

--

I awoke to the sound of light knocking on my door. Unable to speak from the pain of my throbbing head, I could only groan in response.

The door opened and I weakly opened one eye to see who it was. Unfortunately, I slammed my eye shut after feeling my head swim from the sudden light. I felt my head throb, and the back of my hand still had a dull sensation flowing through it. I wouldn't say that it was pain, because it wasn't, it was just a…_sensation_.

The person who walked in decided to speak, "Terra…are you awake?"

I could not recognize the voice.

A grunt was my response. I attempted to open one eye again, and I could faintly make out a feminine silhouette against the impossibly white background.

Even though my throat felt dry and raspy, I still managed to gasp out. "Where…am I?"

The unknown woman answered, "You are in one of the guest rooms in the Gerudo Fortress, Bearer."

My other eye snapped open in surprise, which caused me to wince from the dazzling light.

I opened my mouth to ask another question, but I was interrupted. "Bearer, it is best that you rest for now. Everything will be explained to you in due time."

Ignoring her request, I breathed, "Who…who…are you?"

A pause and then the voice spoke again. She sounded worried. "I am the Sage of Spirit, Nabooru. Now please, you need rest."

I stubbornly shook my head before demanding, "No. Where are both Heroes?"

The voice spoke again, a little bit amused. "When they said you were stubborn, they were not kidding." A pause, "To answer your question though, both of the heroes are coming as we speak."

My vision started to clear up a little bit, and I could see faintly see splashes of colour. The room around me was brown- I think- but the person was still a blur.

My thoughts wandered back to my nightmare that I had. It was so…so…weird. I would have to tell both Heroes about it later, omitting the part about Sane Link saying that he loved me, that is.

I couldn't help from shuddering. I had a bad feeling growing in my stomach.

My ears twitched when they detected two more pairs of feet making their way towards my room. My vision cleared fully this time, and I found myself looking at the Sage of Spirit as she said.

My eyes wandered over to my Triforce hand, noted that it was bandaged tightly, before catching sight of two more figures in the doorway.

Oh yes. The Hero of Time and the Hero of Twilight. My gut wrenched at the sight of Sane Link because I was reminded of that nightmare…

Don't think about that.

Both of them looked equally worried for me. It was Sane Link, however, who asked the question. "Nabooru, how is she?"

The Sage of Spirit turned towards him, "She just woke up a few minutes ago, and I tried to get her to go back to sleep, but she didn't listen to me."

The Hero of Time directed his question at me, "How you feeling…?"

Well. Considering that I only passed out from extreme pain coming from my hand, then I feel pretty good.

I grunted, "I felt better. My head's swimming, my eyes hurt, and my hand feels weird. Not to mention that I've got a killer headache." I added as an after thought.

Nabooru cocked an eyebrow at me before smiling knowingly, "Oh. Your hand feels 'weird' because I put a simple enchantment on it to prevent the Triforce from causing you much pain."

The mention of 'Triforce' brings me back to reality. My eyes widened in fear, "I'm not evil or anything! I swear! I just-"

The Sage of Spirit only laughed at my panic and held up a hand, "Relax, Bearer. The Heroes have explained most of what has happened, but you will need to be present for the parts that they omitted." A pause.

The tension in the air was so thick, it would have to be torn with a chainsaw.

The Gerudo took a deep breath before saying, "Follow me. I'll show you to the Colossus."

True to her word, the Sage of Spirit turned left when she reached the entrance to my room. Both of the Heroes fell into step with Nabooru behind her, while I was left to take up the rear.

I took the silent moment to look about my surroundings. The walls of the long hallway were all made of a material that had similar properties to sandstone, and yet were bare of any decoration. Only torches a few meters apart provided the otherwise narrow space with light.

In fact, said hallway was narrow enough that our little group had to walk in single file. I looked ahead, and noted that Nabooru was leading, The Hero of Time was directly behind her, which could only leave the last person to be Sane Link who was in front of me.

Soon enough, the hallway gradually widened to show a fork in the passage. One way leading right, the other leading left. Nabooru stopped at the edge of the intersection before turning left. We followed, but I was tempted to wander off until my common sense kicked in. I wasn't going to be left alone in a fortress of woman who were probably not too keen on seeing the Triforce of Power once more.

Everything was silent, until the voice of the Sage echoed through the corridor, "Now, Terra. There are a few things you should know." She paused before continuing, "We Gerudos are a race made up entirely of woman who were born and raised to be warriors." She glanced at the Hero of Time as if to ask an unspoken question. Said Hero nodded his head. Taking another deep breath, Nabooru continued, "As the Hero of Time might have told you, a long time ago he defeated Ganondorf, our King at the time. In our race, only a male can be born once every one hundred years, so we got unlucky in that retrospect." The Sage chuckled quietly.

Sane Link looked like he wanted to ask something, but stopped himself once she started speaking again.

"After Link-The Hero of Time- sealed Ganondorf away, he got brought back to his own time by the Princess Zelda of that era…" she trailed off, as if uncertain she should tell this part of the story.

Before The Hero of Time could say anything, I just smiled and said, "I already know what happened next, because the Hero of Time already informed me." I paused, "Tell me more of the Gerudos, please."

Nabooru raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless. "Very well, you earn that much."

--

**AN: Shorter than what I expected, but I **_**really**_** didn't want to sum up Ocarina of Time more than I already have, so there'll be a little time lapse. **

**Review, please! :D**


	30. Adversary

**AN: Fanfiction is still trying my patience with this whole formatting problem thing. **

_**Chapter 30**_

**Adversary**

My left eyebrow raised on its own accord when Nabooru finished explaining the customs of the Gerudos. For instance, when Gerudos 'come of age', they are kicked out of the Fortress and are forced to survive the harsh lands of the desert for a full week before allowing to be let into the fortress.

Another custom of the Gerudos, much to the Hero of Time's embarrassment, was to sing a song after their national anthem entitled 'Gerudo Valley' about the accomplishments of the Hero of Time and how he struck down the Evil King. The tales they told of the Hero of Time's achievements and battles were farfetched, but they were still interesting to hear.

One of the stories that I found the most interesting was when the Hero of Time was fighting a fierce fire dragon, Volvagia, in the bowels of an active volcano trying to save the Goron Tribe from being destroyed.

"Yeah," Nabooru went on, much to the Hero of Time's embarrassment, "I'm telling you! He actually did go into a volcano to defeat Volvagia!"

I just smiled politely, still not believing her in the slightest. My thoughts wandered back to what Nabooru had explained to me earlier: I was told that it was a few centuries since the Hero of Time sealed Ganon away in the Sacred Realm, so the logical question that I asked was, "Nabooru, how are you still…" I hesitated a little before finishing the question, "alive?"

She responded simply and professionally, as if she had answered this question before, "I am a Sage. Even though the physical body of the Sage passes away naturally, the Sage's spirit is reincarnated into a body that is similar to the previous Sage's body…but not quite." Seeing my blank face, she sighed and added, "It's ancient magic."

I bit my lip in thought, "So…you're saying you are immortal."

A short pause followed until my question was confirmed by the Spirit Sage, "That is correct."

I remained silent, trying to let my brain act like a sponge to absorb this whole lot of new information.

Shifting my position on the plush red velvet couch, I asked another question that successfully slaughtered the joyful air of the room. "How does us having to meet with you, Nabooru, help with me trying to defeat Ganondorf?"

Sane Link cleared his throat from a green nylon-like loveseat perpendicular to the red couch I was lounged on, "The Hero of Time and I did some research while you were unconscious, and we came across valuable information."

Once again, one of my eyebrows rose by itself, "And," I spoke the next words slowly so that they would (hopefully) sink in, "You didn't bother telling me this until now…" A pause, "…Why?"

The Hero of Time was the one who cleared his throat this time, a bit nervously, before answering, "We were going to tell you eventually." He went silent for a moment, as if to collect his thoughts, before continuing. "We discovered that Ganondorf will be more difficult to defeat than originally predicted."

I felt the blood drain from my face, making it ghostly pale and my stomach churned in an odd combination of fear, anxiety, and anger.

Ignoring my sudden nausea, the Hero of Time spoke again. "You will need the power of the six sages – like the power I had a long time ago – before defeating Ganondorf."

I whimpered, "So…does that mean that I have to go through all of those temples in order to free them?"

An awkward pause hung around for a few minutes before it was broken by a 'no-nonsense' voice belonging to Sane Link, "No, Terra. The Hero of Time here," he gestured to said Hero with his right hand, who was seated on the same couch as he was, "will transport us to each of the evil-free Temples with his Orcarina of Time."

"It's actually _Ocarina_ of Time." Corrected the Hero's 'Shade'

"There," Sane Link continued as if he wasn't interrupted, "we will talk to each of the Sages in order to get you a medallion like this one."

Sane Link flicked me over an object, which I caught with ease. I opened my hand to reveal a small round shiny thing, about the size of a Toonie, only instead of sporting the silver and copper colours, a dull orange dominated the medallion with an emblem engraved onto it that suspiciously resembled the Ying-Yang symbol.

Nabooru, who was seated on the white couch opposite of mine, answered my unspoken question, "That is the Spirit Medallion. It will give you my power, allowing you to summon spirits to fight for you for a short amount of time."

I grinned, "Sweet!"

--

My disappointment could be felt by my two companions as we said goodbye to the Gerudos. I didn't want to leave that interesting Tribe so soon, but I knew what had to be done. The Hero of Time had promised me, many times, that I would be able to visit again after Ganondorf had been defeated forever.

Hah. As If I could fight him and actually win.

"One Sage down, five more to go." I heard the Hero's 'Shade' mutter underneath his breath. I couldn't decipher what emotions his unusually quiet voice betrayed.

"What the next sage?" Sane Link asked the Hero of Time, curiosity dripping from his voice.

A short pause reigned until a blunt reply echoed throughout the desert, "Forest."

The Hero of Time reached into one of his many 'pockets-that-can-fit-anything' only to pull out a cobalt-blue potato shaped instrument. I knew what it was before he could say it.

"The Ocarina of Time?"

"Yes. Now, hold on tight to my shoulder or something, " A pause and then, "I am going to play the song that will transport us to the Sacred Meadow where the Forest Sage resides."

--

I looked around in an unusual combination bewilderment and wonder at the lush green forest that we had unceremoniously landed in. Sparkling firefly-like-things danced around my head and I found myself swatting them away like they were merely annoying black flies as we made our way through the forest.

The woodland was different than any other woodland that I have traveled through before, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The Hero of Time kept his face carefully blank as he lead Sane Link and I through the enchanting forest.

"Link," I muttered under my breath.

"Yeah?" He responded from beside me, in the same quiet tone.

"Do you hear music right now, or is it just me?" I asked softly, worrying if I was going insane or not because I kept on hearing this cheery tune like it was set on repeat.

There was a brief pause, Sane Link's ears twitched as if trying to listen deeply. He faintly nodded, "Yeah. It's weird, but we can ask Time about it later."

A nod was my only response, as I picked up my pace to walk beside the Hero of Time.

I glanced at his face, trying to decipher what he was thinking. His face was still blank, but I thought I could see some excitement in those blue eyes of his.

The music- it was getting louder as we steadily trekked through the forest. And you know what? It was driving me insane.

It's the kind of annoyance that you feel when you listen to a song on repeat for an hour. Yeah. That kind.

I hardly knew what I was doing when I saw the two heroes turn to the left, into another oversized hollow log presumably into another similar looking clearing, when I hid behind a bush. They both walked out, not even noticing my lack of presence. I grinned.

I was good.

My blood, however, ran cold when I heard a fierce snarl come from behind me. Drawing the Master Sword with haste, I turned around to face my opponent. It was…a giant wolf. Or, as both Links called it, a Wolfos.

The wolf's pelt looked like it spent too many days in the forest, because it was a black/dark green colour. It's red coloured orbs started into my own, and I instantly knew.

This is what both of the heroes felt when they were facing an enemy. Alone.

I went into a fighting stance, while the wolfos slowly circling around me. The monster had started to salivate, the white liquid oozing out of its maw in globs as it growled and snapped at me. Either in hunger or anger, I wasn't quite sure.

But I was not planning on finding out.

Everything went in slow motion. I saw the wolfos' hind leg muscles coil and build up tension, before it sprung at me. Pounced.

I easily dodged to the left, however, and swung the Master Sword to the right. The Sword flashed like silver lightening as it sang in the air whipping towards it's target. It barely missed tearing a shallow slit into the flesh of the monster. The wolfos howled, in fear or pain…again I was not sure, and it wheeled around to charge at me again.

Once again, I evaded the attack but this time I swung to the left.

No dice. I had missed again.

I growled, deep in my throat, as I stared my opponent down. It stared at me back, slowly circling. Circling…circling…

Just as the wolfos lunged at me again, my ears picked up another growl coming to my right.

And another, to my right.

I glanced behind me, only to be greeting with another wolfos sneaking up on me. It was stealthy, like a tiger hunting in a forest.

Huh. Interesting analogy. Except, these were wolfos and I was the prey in a forest.

_Wonderful._

As if the action was instinctual, I held the Master Sword behind me and crouched down low and spread my legs apart.

One of the wolfos moved in closer, the bigger of the four. It growled at the one approaching from its right and snapped as if to say, 'Back off! This is my food!'

The other wolfos retaliated by growling back, but did not bite the other and instead backed away with its tail in between its hind legs.

The original wolfos that I was fighting, before he called in his 'friends', sniffed me while examining me with one red eye.

The wolfos jumped, aiming for my jugular. It would be so easy for it, with its prey so low to the ground. It felt its leg muscles jolt, sending it skyward so it can sink its teeth into its prey's neck.

The wolfos, however, was not expecting the 'prey' to suddenly spin around on one toe and hold out the Master Sword while it soared through the air in a circular motion. Blood sprayed everywhere as the Sword ripped and tore its way through the muscles of the wolfos before coming clean out the other side. More blood followed, soaking the sword up to the hilt in the hot crimson liquid.

The other wolfos, seeing their leader die a rather gruesome death apparently did not wish to share the same fate, for the bolted from the clearing into the safety of the trees.

I slowed, panting, and trying to figure out what had just happened.

It hit me. I just did a 'spin attack', as both Heroes called the technique. I had been trying to do it for months and finally, in the midst of danger, I finally pulled it off.

I smiled in spite of my bloody appearance. Wiping the warm crimson wolfos blood off of me that best I could, I set off to find the others.

Only to be stopped, rather abruptly, by that _pain._

Once again, I found myself clutching my Triforce hand, trying to stop the random twitching as each twitch send a new wave of agony through my whole body.

All of my muscles in my arm stiffened, and I screwed my eyes shut from the sudden torture.

Refraining a whimper, I had to bite my lip in order to keep from screaming. It drew blood.

I couched down again, and laid on the soft grass slowly curling into a human-ball as each wave of pain gave me a new definition of pain, torture, and agony.

The pain left as quickly as it came, and it left me breathless.

I did not pass out this time, however, but I still felt lightheaded and was forced to stay still for...well…my guess was thirty minutes. Might have been more, though.

After my head no longer felt like it was going to implode, I slowly got up and sheathed the Master Sword.

Drawing in a shaky breath, I turned in a random direction to find the others, hoping that I wouldn't get beaten for 'falling behind.'

--Third Person POV. With the Links.--

The Hero of Time was furious and worried. How could she just…_leave?_

Twilight sighed, rather worried himself. "I don't know, Time. Maybe she saw something?"

Time growled out in frustration, "She could have _told_ us. Now, we'll probably never find her in this vast forest."

His voice was one that was hopelessness. Who found life not living anymore.

"She can take care of herself, and besides, it will probably be good for her to be out of her own for a little bit." Twilight pointed out, his wheat coloured hair falling in front of his eyes.

"Yeah but," Time gestured wildly, as if to try to make Twilight understand better, "she could have _told _us. It's not hard, and it's not like her to just…" A pause, "Randomly go off on her own."

"Well, maybe she just needed some time by herself?"

Another pause, this time, in uncertainty. "Yes. That must be…it."

A young girl, who looked no older than the age of ten, shook her head causing her bright green hair to wave around wildly. "You two have got it all wrong. This has nothing to do with her wanting to be alone. The forest spirits are…restless. I can feel them calling for help." She cut herself off with a deep sigh.

"So, Saria, what do you suggest we do?" Asked the Hero of Time, his question directed at the green-haired girl.

The girl, Saria, could only shrug in response. "I am not sure. I guess we'll just have to…wait for her."

--Back to first person. With Terra.--

One thought repeated through my head as I wandered through the forest, the air steadily getting colder, and the light slowly fading away into the night.

I'm stupid. I'm very stupid. Why did I have to just…leave? I could have at least _told_ them.

Now, I'm lost in a strange forest, with only-God-knows what monsters lurking around, with no one to pro-

I scowled, rather disgusted with myself as I leant up against a tree.

What am I talking about? I don't need to be protected. I _shouldn't_ have to be protected. So why did I feel…

My eyes lit up as I thought of what the Hero of Time had said long ago during one of our training sessions.

"_If you ever get lost, you can use the Triforce of Power to connect with Courage."_

Any hope that I had gained through the little memory quickly vanished, when I remembered one very important thing.

I wasn't taught how to sent messages through it yet. Not without being talked to first, anyways.

I winced as the Triforce of Power pulsed painfully a few times, before going quiet once more. What's wrong with this thing?

As if somebody up in the heavens could read my thoughts, I felt a sensation in my Triforce. As if…somebody was trying to talk to me.

I allowed the Hero of Time to talk to me, and tell him that-

"**Hello, Terra. I have been waiting for you to be alone."**

The voice was deeper. Sinister, but at the moment sounded amused. Almost a sort of…twisted happiness of somebody else's suffering.

My eyes widened. The Triforce of Wisdom. Ganondorf. He knows where I am.

I heard a chuckle from the other end of the 'line' and was reminded of telephones when I was on Earth. Was this an early method of long-distance wireless communication?

The threatening voice, Ganondorf, spoke again, **"You are scared. You don't know where to turn. You are scared that you will be punished for running away from the only people that could protect you."** Another laugh. I felt my blood begin to boil in hatred. **"You fear me. Admit it. Realize it."**

Ganondorf went on like that for a few minutes, but I was not really listening. My current thoughts were all aboard the same train of thought, which I was sure was going to derail and crash sometime soon.

I'm screwed.

**AN: Hm…Terra is in a little bit of a pickle, isn't she? For the record, I changed a lot of the plot outline that I made, and this having to delete half of this chapter and rewrite it all. A slightly new style of writing here, too. **

**Review, please? **


	31. Forest

**AN: This chapter starts third-person, with the others. Others, being of course, the Links and the Forest Sage. **_I would just like to take a quick moment to say: Thanks for the 9000+ hits everybody, and for the reviews!_

**Fanfiction somehow still gives me the whole formatting problem thing, which is really trying my patience. **

…

"Normal Talking"

"**Triforce talking"**

…

**See you at the bottom!**

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_**Chapter 31**_

_**Forest**_

His chest tightened in worry as her thought of her again.

Terra, _his_ Terra, lost in an unknown forest. Slowly being preyed upon by the many monsters and creatures that haunted this land.

He couldn't think of it. He didn't want to think of it.

The Hero of Time turned towards the depressed Hero in mild annoyance, "Twilight, brooding about it isn't going to help her."

Twilight sighed, "Yes I know but…"

The Forest Sage, Saria, widened her eyes. "A great evil has entered this forest. I do not know who but…I recognize it." She paused and drew in a shuddering breath. "It's Ganondorf. We need to find Terra, and fast."

--

"**You fear me. But why? You have got Power, I have Wisdom. Together, both of us could destroy Courage once and for all."**

I shook my head, desperately trying to get the Evil King to shut up. He had been going on for a while now, and I didn't know how to shut the Triforce off so that it couldn't transmit messages. The Hero of Time hasn't taught me that either. So, in theory, I was in deep trouble. Up the river without a paddle, so to speak.

The frigid air froze me to my soul as I held myself tighter in an attempt to save as much heat as possible. I never knew that Hylian nights could be this cold.

Fury in me awakened like I never had experienced before when I thought of Ganondorf and how evil he was, how he was causing everybody in Hyrule to suffer for his own stupid and selfish wants. My blood hissed through my veins in anger and my fists clenched involuntarily. The freezing cold that I had just experienced was suddenly countered as rage dominated my senses. I had enough of this.

I had enough of his talking, enough of his evil. I wanted him to just shrivel up into a raisin, and be harvested by a sunny maid.

"**Listen, you ass, and listen well because I am only saying this once." **The Triforce of Power pulsed painfully as it sent the message.

I waited. Silence.

As I 'spoke' the next line, the Triforce of Power continued to spurt out bursts of light until it was a solid pale red. **"Leave me the hell alone, Ganondorf. Or you will surely regret it!" **My Triforce screeched – it was earsplitting – and surged once more, sending shivers throughout my whole body, before going quiet.

There was still silence. I waited for a response.

--With Links and the Forest Sage. Third-Person POV--

"**Leave me the hell alone, Ganondorf. Or you will surely regret it!"**

The fierce-sounding message resonated to the Triforce of Courage too, on the other side of the mysterious forest.

Sane Link screamed at the sudden power flowing through his Piece. The bitter words 'spoken' by Terra traveled even to the ears of the Forest Sage and the Hero of Time. The former of which, shuddered in fear while the latter attempted to comfort her.

"What was that, Twilight?" The Hero of Time asked the Hero of Twilight, with a careful blank face covering up his emotions.

Twilight shrugged, "I am not sure. It sounded like…Terra." A pause. "She's in trouble."

A fierce anger enveloped the Hero of Time's blue eyes, "Well, let's go _find her_!" he spoke in frustration and fear, "Who knows what'll happen if we just sit here!"

All three of them ran, to try and save Terra's life.

--

I stood there, panting. I felt my chest rise and fall shakily with every breath I took, and it felt like I was going to collapse any minute.

"…**Had enough, Terra?"**

I, once again, found myself criticizing myself for my own stupidity because of my random abandoning of both Links.

"**Your friends are coming. But they are too late."** The malevolent voice – Ganondorf – trailed off with a sharp hiss that shot shivers down my spine thus making my neck hairs stand on end.

As if that hiss was a trigger of some sort, my head started to swim and pulse painfully. A thousand images flashed through my head at once. It was like sensory overload.

I saw faces. Images from the past.

A young woman, no older than the age of eighteen, smiled up at me in my mind's eye and said something. I didn't know what was said. But her azure coloured eyes crinkled in delight.

Another image. A man dressed in blue fiercely engaged in battle with a blue-snake like figure. They both charged each other, yelling battle cries. A flash of crimson. The man screamed. The blue snake-like figure bubbled in triumph.

The image faded. The agonized screams of the man echoed throughout my mind. Back and forth. Back and forth.

A third scene burst its way through my mind's eye. A young girl, who looked no older than ten years old, sat in a tree with a boy around the same age. Both had green clothes, blue eyes, but the boy had a sword strapped to his back. As if sensing my presence, both figures turned their heads to curiously look at me.

The image was replaced by another one. This one was of a man in tight-fitting clothes playing a golden harp. He opened his eyes slowly to reveal pools of red. The man had a white cloth cover his face up to his eyes.

A calming picture took the place of image of the man. A proud grey building stood in the heart of a bustling market. Light filtered down through the stained-windows giving a peaceful presence.

As if the source of all of these images was cut off, my mind's eye became blank causing me to tumble back to the harsh realities of…reality.

My eyes fluttered open slowly. One blink. Another blink. A third blink. My eyes stayed open.

I was greeted with a concerned and trouble expression, while the other was livid and cold.

"Terra! Are you alright?" Sane Link asked me, worry still evident on his features. He kneeled down and supported most of my body weight with his two arms, because I couldn't do it myself.

Before I could answer, the Hero of Time turned his gaze at me and snapped, "That was a stupid move, leaving us like that. What were you _thinking_?"

That is a very good question. What _was_ I thinking?

The harsh tone that the Hero of Time used instinctively brought tears to the corners of my eyes. Must not let the tears fall. Must not cry. Must not ruin my image of tough…ness.

The Twilight Hero glared daggers at the 'Shade' for the cold reception, but he just shrugged in response as if uncaring.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, barely audible. "I don't know what I was thinking."

"Darn straight you didn't know what you were thinking! You could have gotten killed!" The Hero of Time still sounded furious whether at me or Ganondorf, I wasn't sure.

Now aware of my surroundings, I gasped and examined the area that I was in. Huh, I must have passed out because this isn't the same clearing that I was in before.

To answer my unspoken question, Sane Link replied in an easy tone, "You had gone unconscious in that clearing over there, supposedly after sending that harsh signal through the Triforce of Power. We found you, and brought you here."

I blinked, still puzzled, "Yeah, but…where's 'here'?"

"Kikorki Forest, a place that the Great Deku Tree eternally protects and where little children – who shall stay little forever – play." Came the response from the Hero of Time, just outside of the little brown circular hut that I was in.

I sat up on my elbows on my straw bed with a raised eyebrow, "Children that stay little…forever?"

Silence was the response until, "Yes." Then, "Come out, and I'll show you."

I compiled, with the help of Sane Link as a kind of crutch, and peered out of the doorway partially covered with a pale purple coloured cloth. My eyes widened in wonder at the sight while one word shoved its way through the mass of thoughts of pure awe.

Green.

Grunting softly from the effort, I pushed the cloth away so I could see better, and slowly stepped out of the little hut on my own, all the while looking about in awe.

We were definitely _not_ in the cold and ominous forest that I was in before. True to 'Time's' word, little children – who wore different shades of green – sauntered around in circles around a really, really big tree that looked like a General Sherman Tree, the most massive tree and tallest on Earth.

A small river wound its way through the small village full of brown little huts similar to the one that I was in earlier. Fresh buds sparkled in the morning dew on the towering and protective trees surrounding the village. My ears perked up slightly at the familiar calls of birds back home, but that didn't make any sense, because they didn't live in Hyrule.

Or did they?

The humid air weighed down on my shoulders like a hidden burden, and I found it slightly harder to breathe. I noticed that the village was a little foggy as well, but I didn't say anything. Little lanterns flickered on the porch of each little hut, that gave an ominous feel.

One by one, the hyperactive children stopped playing around the General Sherman Tree, and turned their gazes towards me. Every single one of them squealed and made a beeline for me, shattering the previous ominous mood, causing Sane Link to leave my side thus rendering me helpless against the horde of green-clothed kids.

Before I was tackled by the Mob, however, a young feminine voice saved me from certain death by suffocation. "Kokiris! Line up, and let us greet the Bearer properly."

Whoa. That voice was way too commanding for a little child.

Said little 'child' walked up to me, with an apologetic look on her features, and, to my absolute surprise, bowed before saying, "Bearer. We are honoured to provide you with hospitality during these dark times."

I couldn't help but notice the way her bright green hair swayed as she talked, and it took a great effort trying to stifle a laugh at her hair.

But, seeing as that would be really mean of me, I smiled politely and just said, "Please, don't call me that. My name is Terra."

The response came that positively shocked me, "Hello! My name is Saria."

My jaw is not on the floor. Definitely not.

She just said her name is Saria, but that doesn't make any sense. The Hero of Time had said that the Forest Sage's name was Saria, but I was expecting at least a teenager and not a twerp obviously obsessed with green.

I did not dare voice my thoughts, however, and I tried really hard to try to not act surprised and dumbfounded. I really did.

Judging by Saria's previously calm expression turning into a scowl, I knew I had failed.

"As the Hero of Time probably told you, I am the forest sage, and I am honestly glad to meet you."

I noticed that both Heroes have been silent for the past few moments. How odd, usually it's one of the Links that dominate a conversation.

My gaze broke away from Saria, who was still glaring at me suspiciously, to examine the little children lined up in an orderly fashion. As in, tallest to shortest.

The tallest, a kid with orange hair and freckles on his nose, stepped forward and bowed his head slightly. "Bearer, we are all certainly glad you could make it." The other children murmured their agreement at Freckle's statement.

"This is Mido," Saria's voice stated, "One of the chief Kokiri. I will introduce the others later. For now, though…"

As if 'though' was its cue, a booming voice echoed throughout the little village successfully alarming me, thus resulting in me drawing the Master Sword with a resounding _shing._ The voice hesitated, "You certainly have excellent reflexes. Come closer, I wish to see your face clearly."

I couldn't help it, "Come closer, where? I don't even know where-"

My thoughts were interrupted when the Hero of Time tapped me on my shoulder, causing me to tense instinctively, before pointing an index finger at that massive tree that I had been previously gawking at.

To my surprise, the tree seemed to move, its branches rustling and shaking, "I would have guessed that the Hero of Time would have told you about I, but I could see that is not the case." A pause and then, "I am the Great Deku Tree, the guardian of this forest."

* * *

**AN: The 'sunny maid' is an inside joke referring to Sun-Maid. You know, the raisin company. (Snickers)  
**

**Leave a word, eh? **


	32. Fire

**AN: Fanfiction is still messing up the formatting. **

**A New Poll is Up. Please Vote! **

**I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_**Chapter 32**_

_**Fire**_

I smiled at the sparkling green medallion that I had received from Saria a few days ago. The Forest Medallion. The artifact that could call on the spirits of the forests to make foliage grow, thus whipping my foes into submission with their menacing leafy branches.

Oh come on. That's just stupid. What an idiotic power to have, honestly.

With two medallions in my possession, the Hero of Time decided that it was time to leave the forest that I had grown to love. Both Sane Link and I begged and tried to persuade the Hero of Time to let us stay longer, but our efforts were futile.

So, with Sane Link and I staring at the forest in longing, the Hero of Time led us out of the 'Lost Woods', as that Great Deku Tree, had called it, and into Faron Province.

He had said that he would inform us where we are headed to next when we get out of earshot of everybody else but he hasn't yet – and we've been walking in the wide field for at least an hour.

I don't think about it much, but when I face off against Ganondorf, I do not think I will be victorious. I don't even think that I have a chance, but I have to be strong, if not for both Links, then for Hyrule itself and her slain Princess.

As if the thought of myself being butchered by a tyrant isn't enough, the stupid Triforce of Power has to make it worse by constantly making my hand seizure out, leaving me out of commission for hours if not days. I tried not to think of the pain, but even as I do, I feel the aftermath of the immense pain that I had experienced in the forest not long ago. It's not pleasant, I tell you.

The grunt of a Bokoblin – those purple troll-like enemies – tore me out of my thoughts. Seeing as both Links stepped away from the monster and were staring at my expectantly, I drew the Master Sword. It came out of the sheath with a melodic ring, and I held it out in front of me.

The Bokoblin stared at me with its beady little green eyes, before letting out another grunt and drawing a weapon of its own – a wooden club.

We observed each other carefully, circling around each other. As if the monster had enough of the staring contest that we were both locked it, the creature shrieked and charged.

I just narrowed my eyes, and stood there. Wait for it…

The Bokoblin was about five meters away from me, closing in fast. I held my ground.

Wait for it…

Four Meters.

Waaait….

Two Meters away.

As the Bokoblin swung its club horizontally, that if I would have stayed still would have crushed my skull, but I threw my weight to the left, and rolled sideways. I felt my stomach churn in disgust at the sudden acrobatic move, but I let it slide.

Now.

I abruptly stopped my roll, now behind the creature, and with a simple slash of the Master Sword, blood spurted out like a gruesome water fountain. The head of the creature rolled on the ground.

Ignoring the blood on my black tunic and the fact that I was panting heavily, I managed a tiny grin and glanced up at the duo in green, looking for some sort of sign that they were impressed.

I was rewarded. The Hero of Time was giving me an appraising look, while Sane Link stood gaping at either the decapitated bukoblin or me, I wasn't sure.

Time smirked, letting the impressed tone escape from the words, "Nice job, Terra!"

I said my thanks, with a tiny blush, but before anymore could be said, the Hero of Time spoke again.

"Let's continue to head towards Kakariko Village, shall we?"

Sane Link nodded, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

A few minutes passed in silence, and noticing that nobody was going to make conversation anytime soon, I took refuge in my thoughts.

I can't believe that both Links got over the death of Princess Zelda that quickly. I guess it's because both have seen a lot of death, but then again, so have I. Why does it seem that something going to go horribly wrong?

My eyebrow furrowed in deep thought.

Come to think of it, The Hero of Time has been acting a lot differently, no? It almost seems like he's…another person entirely. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I've noticed him looking at me with a weird look on his face. I'll have to confront him about that later, but for now…

I turned my attention to the two heroes, who were currently engaged in a conversation about whether chickens – er, cucoos – can be lethal or not.

"I'm telling you," The Hero of Time motioned with his hands wildly, trying to express his point, "Those creatures are not to be crossed with. This one time at a ranch when I was a boy, I accidentally stepped on one of those evil buggers –"

Sane Link chuckled and put up on of his hands, "No, man. Quit fooling around. Cucoos are harmless birds, and that's all."

The Hero of Time glared at Sane Link for interrupting him, but still continued on his train of thought, "-and it summoned its evil horde of other cucoos to attack me! Luckily, a barn was nearby, or I would have been cucoo feed."

I listened, amused, to the argument that the two were so passionately engaged in. Sane Link argued that cuccos were not the blood-thirsty birds that the Hero of Time claimed they were, but the Hero of Time kept on insisting that there is murderous intent in each of their beady black eyes.

The two were like bickering old men, I tell you. It was hilarious.

I decided to add my two cents to the quarrel with a lopsided smirk, "How dare those cucoos dare to attack the great Hero of Time."

This got a rise out of both heroes. My smirk grew even wider at my success when, "Whose side are you _on _Terra!?" and the Hero of Time's, "Yes! Finally somebody agrees with me."

"But," I continued, cutting both of the men off, "they're so…" I paused, mostly for dramatic effect, before putting on the most fan-girlish face I could muster and squealed, "_cute!_"

At this, the Hero of Time narrowed his eyes and muttered something along the lines of, "Traitor," and Sane Link just chuckled and shook his head, as if laughing at my weirdness.

"-with their beady little evil eyes," The Hero of Time perked up and began to smile in victory, "and their plush little feathery bodies," At this point, Time began to frown and was about to yell at me when something happened.

And by something, I mean a very painful something. I clenched my eyes shut at the pain that the stupid Triforce of Power was causing me, all the while inwardly cursing it and its existence.

One thought managed to make its way through all the other thoughts of panic, fear, and pain. Which was…

Way to kill the mood.

After a few minutes, when the pain in my hand gradually trickled down from a roaring bonfire to a small candle flame, I opened my eyes again. I was panting heavily again, but what I saw on my hand freaked me out a little.

This black ragged – scar –It sprouted from the Triforce, wrapped around each one of my fingers, branched off into little sections, before stopping at the Triforce of Power again. It didn't reach my palm of that hand.

I poked the scar, but I didn't feel anything. Only a little bit of nausea, but it went away quickly, so it didn't really count.

I pointed with my other hand and voiced my question of, "What the hell is that?" to the Hero of Time, but he just bit his lip and responded, as he looked at the scar, "I'm not sure, Terra. It's best that we get you to each of the sages as fast as possible, then."

Sane Link cringed when he looked at the scar, but did not say anything.

--

I scrunched up my face in discomfort, feeling my eyes fire daggers at the moat of lava that surrounded the little room.

The Hero of Time had taken us to Death Mountain – the place with the Goron Mines. Instead of taking us inside the mines, however, he decided to "take a shortcut," as he put it, and blew up a rock on the side of said mountain revealing a passage of some sort. I expected lava to come pouring out of the newly made hole that his bombs made, and was surprised when nothing happened.

My eyes narrowed at the perimeter of lava of the small circular shaped room. Besides the Hero of Time, Sane Link, and I, nobody was there. Unless you count a white marble octagon in the center of the room, that is. There was a symbol on the beautiful marble, that glittered with the firelight from the lava and torches surrounding it. In the middle of the octagon, there was a statue or memorial of some sort. A black marble serpent – which contrasted with the white marble – glared at us from its place through two half-closed eyes. The carving was so detailed, one could see the fire mane that the monster possessed, and a mask that seemed to wrap itself around his head. Two arms supported the 'snake', something that I didn't notice before, with lethal dragon-like claws at the end of each.

"That is a statue of Volvagia, the fire dragon that I had defeated in order to rescue the fire sage – or what was left of him." The Hero of Time's voice floated to my ears, snapping my gaze from the dragon's memorizing eyes.

"Was it made in honour of you slaying it?" Came the question from the other green-tunic hero.

A short pause, but the answer finally came in the form of, "Yes."

The Hero of Time turned his eyes towards me, and motioned for me to step towards the statue. I did, but not without questioning with my eyes. His eyes, unlike mine, didn't betray what he was thinking though.

I just obeyed him, and he stated, "Draw your sword."

I compiled and he continued on with his instructions, "By lightly tapping the dragon's nose, it will teleport us to the Fire Temple, where the fire sage's spirit now resides."

Slowly and cautiously, I moved the Master Sword towards the black marble statue, which in contrast to the white marble around it, did not reflect any firelight at us.

As soon as the tip of the sword came in contact with the nose of the dragon, the previously black round eyes of the dragon turned turquoise, surprising me. The circular room around me shook violently, and I felt my conscious fading away. Everything went black.

--

A loud commanding voice forced me out of my unconsciousness and into reality, "Brother! I thought I would never lay eyes on you again!"

My eyes fluttered open, and in front of me, stood a tall Goron, who would by all means tower over a normal Goron.

Said Goron had his arms outstretched, and was smiling at something – or someone. I followed his gaze, only to watch the Hero of Time slowly get up from his sprawled position on the dirt ground to beam at the Goron in pleasure, "Darunia, how have you been, man?"

The Goron spoke, an action of his that I had started to loathe, because it rattled my ribcage each time he uttered a word. "Ever since you left the afterlife to help these two young heroes, I have missed you, Brother!"

At the mention of 'young heroes', Darunia turned his gaze towards Sane Link and grinned, his eyes twinkling in delight, "You must be the new hero of hold the Triforce of Courage! I hear your name is 'Link', too, correct?"

At Sane Link's nod, the poor man found his left hand being squished by Darunia's much bigger one. He winced, but didn't say anything.

As if he finally noticed me, Darunia let out a booming laugh, that caused me to narrow my eye sin annoyance and what came out of his mouth nearly gave me a heart attack, "Link, my man, you finally decided to get a girlfriend!" He looked me over, and grinned at the Hero of Time, "Nice choice!"

I ignored my scarlet coloured face, and instead said, a bit unsure of myself, "Um…no. I'm Terra, the current wielder of the Master Sword, and the one who is going to show Ganondorf just how stubborn and vicious the people from Earth can be." I knew I shouldn't have mentioned Earth, as it brought a whole new wave of home-sickness, but I felt the pride flow through my veins at it's mention, as if the possibility of me being able to go back home was the only thing encouraging me to fight

Darunia just laughed, outright, at my expression and my annoyed gaze, "I know who you are, Terra, I just wanted to see your reaction." As if my glare could get any more fierce, it just did.

Darunia continued, "Although I do not know what this 'Earth' is, it seems that you are very proud to come from there," I nodded, "and you want to go back as soon as possible."

I hesitated, but once again found myself nodding.

At Darunia's outstretched hand, he stated, "My name is Darunia, obviously, and I am the Fire Sage."

* * *

**AN: Darunia isn't a sexist asshole like he was in 'Rebel'. **

**Longer chapter, more detail, and all that other fun stuff. Half of this chapter was written as soon as I posted chapter 31, and the last half was only recently finished in the past couple of days.**

_**Once Again, There Is A New Poll Up, and It Would Be Great If You Could Vote On It. It Is Important To Me To Get As Much Votes As Possible. Thank You. **_

**Please review, as I would love to hear your opinion! **


	33. Water

AN:

**AN: Awakening to Hyrule has reached 10,000 hits a few days ago, and I am pleased to say that I am very happy where it is progressing. It has also surpassed Rebel in terms of reviews (as well as hits) and is my longest story to date. (Word-wise, and chapter-wise.) The story also currently has 27 alerts and 30 favourites, pwning any other story that I had ever written.** If anybody has any suggestions, or they want something to happen and if it won't change the plot to drastically, then I will consider putting it in somewhere. (**Sighs)** **and yes, that means making Sane Link and Terra kiss, too, if you guys still want that to happen. **

There's a poll that I would like as much people as possible to vote on, so if you would please, vote if you have not already! Having as much information as possible is personally important to me. Thanks. 

There's more at the bottom author's note, so, see you at the bottom then!

**Enjoy.**

EDIT : Recently edited for corrections (Terra isn't supposed to teleport from one horse to another!)

_**Chapter 33**_

_**Water**_

My eyelids tricked me, as if I actually thought they had turned into an indescribable mass of jelly. I had proved them wrong, however, by peering into a clear pool of water in the middle of the Elden portion of Hyrule Field. My eyes were, in fact, normal eyes, even though they didn't feel close to feeling like normal eyes should.

The reason for my eyelids feeling like they are is because I haven't been getting a lot of sleep for the past couple of days due to the fact that I've been having nightmares almost everyday now. You know what the best part is? I have no clue how to explain it to either of them just how long I have been having these nightmares, and I'm not sure if I want to start telling them, for fear of my own safety. Not that they would do anything to me, of course, it's the principal of the thing.

I sighed, partially to myself, but the other half of my mind was still stuck on the current issue at hand. We – being Sane Link, Hero of Time, and I – just set off from the 'belly of Death Mountain' after getting the Fire Medallion from Darunia – the most outgoing and slightly scary Goron that I would ever know. Throughout our brief visit with the fire sage, I insisted on staying as far away from him as possible, even though both parties have tried to explain that he was harmless.

I guess I just have a fear of huge, outgoing 'rocks' who could practically crush my skull if they happened to pretend my head was a drum and their fingers were the sticks for the drum.

After a reluctant Darunia handed me the Fire Medallion, he explained what the medallion could do, which partially made me swoon – at the fact that I adored dragons – and made me wail at the idea of letting out a possibly evil beast upon Hyrule. The Sage assured me, however, that the dragon – Volvagia – was harmless.

Yeah, 'harmless' he might be, but what about tame?

Despite the horrifying consequences if the Fire Sage was wrong about the dragon's tameness (or lack there of), I took his word for it anyway and slipped the medallion in the small pouch with the others.

So that was how fate discovered us here, in the middle of the Elden portion of Hyrule field, 'slowly trotting' along towards the Domain of the Zoras.

I was on Sane Link's horse, frantically grasping on as tight as I could to his body to prevent me from falling off the horse due to the sheer wind forces we were pulling off. Both steeds soared across the empty plain, now devoid of monsters, towards Zora's Domain where the Water Sage would reside. Forced out of my thoughts by the jostling of the horse and the clanking of the swords against the mens' shields, my ears turned in to part of a conversation that the two boys were having.

"-we going next, Time?"

I could barely hear the Hero of Time's response on the other horse, as we whipped across the field, "How many times do I have to say it? Zora's Domain to see the Water Sage!"

By the way the Hero of Time had spoken of the Water Sage, it seemed like he was scared of her. Maybe something happened in the past?

Whatever. It's not like the past is mine to dig up anyways, as I've learned, some things are best kept to oneself.

The conversation that I had practically boasted about Earth back in the mountain is an example. Couldn't I keep my mouth shut? I don't think Darunia cares about it, but it still makes me feel even worse about still being away from home. What possessed me to do that anyways? It's not like any of them know that Earth is 'only thousands of years more advanced' or something to that effect, and if any of them did happen to get a hold of that information, it's not like they could do anything. I mean, they have swords, bows, and magic, but _we_ – being people back on Earth – have advanced military equipment, such as tanks and planes and stuff.

Whoa whoa. Hold it. Why am I even conjuring the possibility of a war between Hyrule and Earth anyways? We're on a completely different planet, probably in another galaxy entirely, and _we_ can't even get a man to Mars yet. I'm just being dumb here, which defiantly isn't helping my sanity, and does not help us win the war that I am currently involved in. The war against an evil tyrant.

I was successfully forced out of those thoughts by Sane Link's familiar voice, "Hey, Terra? You alright back there? You haven't said anything since we set off."

I rolled my eyes, hoping none of them say my depressed and slightly paranoid attitude and that neither of them caught on to the 'string 'of nightmares because that would 'spell trouble' for me.

"I'm fine," I felt my voice answer, as if my body was talking and not my mind, "I'm just tired from all the-" I frantically stopped myself, just in time too, after nearly spilling the beans about my nightmares and visions I have been experiencing.

An awkward pause followed, and then Time spoke, his voice sounding suspicious, "From all the what?"

I took a breath and continued, "From all the…" Oh come on, Terra. From what? From _what_? "…from all the experiences we've been experiencing in the past couple of days."

The familiar feeling of dread filled me once again when Time looked back to the front, an odd look on his face, before turning back to me.

Hey, isn't not my fault that I'm such a bad liar.

"You know, Terra, you're a horrible liar." I couldn't tell what he was thinking, as he kept his face carefully blank. I was about to respond when he spoke again, "I don't know what's been wrong with you, but it would be best if you would tell us to get it off your chest, and," he paused, after seeming to think a little, "and for us to make sure that you don't keep any secrets from us or anything like that."

The Hero of Time smirked, no doubt feeling triumphal, after seeing my horror-stricken face at his discovery.

Crossing my arms, feeling defensive, I muttered angrily, "I've been having bad dreams, nothing to worry about."

The Hero of Time, apparently only had been fooling around, turned around on his horse with a quizzical look on his face and asked, "what's nothing to worry about?"

My eyes slowly widened in panic, until a thought squirmed its way through my increasingly panicking nerves.

They don't know it yet. I might be able to keep it secret a little while longer.

Feigning innocence, I declared the first thing that came to my mind, "I need to pee."

Sane Link, whose shoulder I could see shaking, slowly pulled his horse to a stop and allowed me to get off to 'pee'. I realized, as I was getting off the horse, that he was laughing.

--

I was still berating myself. Seriously. 'I need to pee,' was the first thing that came to my mind? That's pathetic, that really is. I couldn't think of anything _other_ than that? What was wrong with me? Now they both are probably suspecting something, no doubt, and I have to tell them. But…how would I go about it without getting hurt myself?

That question drove circuits around my brain ever since I hd left to 'go pee,' which was hours ago.

We are now currently at Zora's Domain, Sane Link asking for an audience with Prince Ralis, and I, bored out of my mind. We didn't know where the Hero of Time was – he left half an hour previous.

"Terra, get that frown off your face, we've got an audience with the Prince, that means that we can reach the next sage!" Sane Link's excited voice startled me – he went around the other side of the giant pool and sneaked up behind me. The massive waterfall roared just ahead of us, and I glared up at the top. I didn't want to do this again.

--

Time Lapse. Half an Hour.

--

"Hey guys, miss me?" Came the calm voice of the Hero of Time, as he heaved himself over the last of the large ridges beside the waterfall that allowed us access to the Throne Area, as I called it.

Sane Link, who was currently discussing something that wasn't important to Prince Ralis, glanced over his shoulder and motioned for the Hero of Time to come and sit beside them.

I could only roll my eyes and swear under my breath as I listened to the conversation, clearly not amused. To my surprise however, "Enough about politics, Heroes, let's discuss the current matter at hand, shall we?"

The relief must have shown on my face, but I didn't care, because I absolutely hated the topic of politics…especially those of whose country I wasn't even a citizen in!

"You three need to find the Water Sage, correct?"

I nodded in confirmation. Finally we're getting somewhere!

A pause from Prince Ralis until, "As you wish, follow me."

And we did.

--

Prince Ralis, by no doubt, led us to one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Granted, I've been there before, but that didn't count. As I looked around me, flashes of memories appeared in my mind's eye. I remembered the appearance of Lanayru, the Spirit of this land, bursting out from the water to tell us a few legends.

That's right. We were in 'Lanayru's chamber', as I liked to call it. Prince Ralis motioned 'up' with his hand to the empty water, and what happened next surprised me. The water 'exploded' sending flurries of water droplet everywhere.

"Meet Princess Ruto, the Sage of Water." Came the noble's voice dramatically.

When the mist from the water explosion cleared, I gawked. The Sage of Water, in all her fishy glory, stood on two gushing water pillars that supported her above the 'sacred pond'.

As if in a trance, the Sage of Water majestically made her way towards us. A she took her first step, a new column of water ruptured through the calm pool, meeting the Zora's foot. Each step she took, the new water columns came up to meet her feet until she was on solid ground. As the pillars were fading out of existence-

"Holy Triforce! It's you!" The Sage of Water's eyes widened in surprise, and before any of us could react, she sped straight towards the Hero of Time, who now had a horrified look on his features. In a display of politeness and grace, she slam-tackled the poor Hero of Time, sending him sprawling to the ground in a heap.

"Oh my Goddesses! It's you! It's finally you! Don't you forget the promise you made to me a few hundred years ago that we are to be wed!"

Wait. Wed? As in…married?

The whole situation, combined with my need of distraction, make me double over in laughter. Beside me, I noticed Sane Link chuckle at the situation as well.

That action made the Hero glare in my direction, "It's not funny, Terra." Back to the Water Sage, "Princess Ruto, for the last time, I did not know what I was agreeing to when you offered me the Spiritual Stone of Water. I really didn't."

In a flash, the gleeful face of Princess Ruto transformed into a pathetic-looking pout, "But, Liiink! You're just saying that because _she_," Princess Ruto pointed a long slender blue finger at me, "is here and you want to hide your true feelings for me!"

I raised an eyebrow, partially wondering how I got dragged into this, and partially-

My thought process was interrupted by - guess what - that pain. I clenched my eyes shut, now noticing the Triforce of Power and the Master Sword pulse in time with the throbbing in my hand. Horrified, the black scar from before slowly started to creep it's way up and around my arm, before stopping at my elbow. I couldn't see because I still had my eyes tightly shut, but I could just _feel_ that sickening scar slither its way up my arm, leaving the skin around it tingling.

That wasn't the end of the pain, however, as I was expecting. The pain kept on increasing until I couldn't take it anymore. In a final effort to sustain my consciousness, I ripped the Master Sword out of its scabbard and hurled it into the sacred pond. The Sword cut through the water like liquefied butter, but instead of sinking, it just floated.

The excruciating pain slowly, but surely, simmered down to a dull ache in my hand, before finally disappearing completely.

I laid there on my stomach, shaking from the pain and fear. I was sweating heavily, and the silence was only broken with Ruto's, "That's brutal, girl! What's happening to you?"

I gave her a deadpanned look, and slowly gasped out, "We…were…going to…ask…you…that question."

My gaze returned to the Master Sword, still floating in the same spot, and a pain of loss came over me for some strange reason. Shrugging my shoulders, I was about to dive in to retrieve it, when, "No, don't. I'll do it. The Sword probably doesn't like you for whipping it away like that."

Whatever you say, Hero of Time.

**AN: kekeke. You have no idea how much I was tempted to make one of the water pillars not come up, thus making her face plant into the ground. But I resisted, as that wouldn't be very majestic, now would it? XD**

**As stated above, review please and there's a new poll up, so vote if you have not already! **(Getting as much votes as possible is important to me, so please!)


	34. Shadow

**AN: The current poll results: **

**Awakening to Hyrule: 5 votes**

**Legend of the Rebel : 3 votes**

**Phantomized Hourglass : 1 vote.**

**And the rest: 0 votes.**

_If you haven't voted on the poll, please do so! _

**I'm having a hard-time finding a place where some fluffiness will be added, and I feel like a total cheat when there was so much in the beginning and none now, but remember that during a war like this…there's no time to be flirtatious and the like.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

_**Chapter 34**_

_**Shadow**_

The vile jet-black scar throbbed once again, sending bursts of agony throughout my whole body. I lay there, on the small cot, eyes half closed while trying to force air into my lungs. My eyes had long ago glazed over because of the sheer pain, and I felt my skin slowly transform from a healthy glow to deathly pale.

Death. We all die at some point, don't we? It's the natural cycle and all creatures have to face it at some point or another. My only question is, why now?

I felt a warm hand carefully rest on my forehead, only to pull away after a second or two. I heard voices, they weren't very clear to me as I could only hear bits and pieces due to my hearing failing me. Before my clouded brain could decipher the jumble of words, however, I felt my body fade away as I drifted into unconsciousness…

--

Third Person POV. Four Hours Earlier.

--

A pair of courageous heroes raced through the vast plains of Hyrule Field on top their hardy brown mares, charging through the field as if racing time itself. A small figure was seen clutched by one of the green-clad heroes, the younger of the two, at the front of the horse. The small figure was a young woman – curled up into the fetal position muttering words and names that caused the older hero's face darken in anger and fear. Garbed in a dark black cloak, the woman was concealed as well as possible, as the two sped towards the only place where they knew she would be safe – the Hidden Village.

For hours, the two heroes made their way towards the secret village of the Shiekah people. Legend has it that the tribe had been whiped out during the Great War between the Hero of Time and the King of Evil, and for decades the Shiekahs hid in the shadows, letting everybody believe that the tribe had died out.

The few remaining Shiekah who survived the War between the Hero and the King of Evil lived in the shadows for centuries. Only recently, they built a small village nestled safely under the watchful eye of the surrounding mountains in Hyrule. The Few, as they were often referred to in Shiekah Legend, named the settlement that they had built, Hidden Village, or Satul Ascuns, in Shiekah Tongue.

The Hidden Village was where the pair of heroes desperately moved towards, and as dusk wrapped its claw around the land of Hyrule, the Heroes urged their steeds to move swifter through the barren plain, and into the narrow passage that wound its way towards their destination. More importantly, however, towards the one person who could save the young woman's life. The Sage of Shadow.

--

My eyes fluttered open on their own accord, hesitating briefly before opening fully, and stared in wonder at the white bandage on my left hand. The pure white of the medieval gauze, slowly being stained with blood – my blood – before turning pure-white again. The magical bandage seemed to renew itself before it was completely saturated with my crimson blood, however I had no idea where the blood went. I was fascinated, and couldn't stop staring at it. After I watched its cycle a few more times, I looked around at my surroundings.

The room wasn't anything special, and it was as simple as a room could get. A small wooden desk was in the corner of the semi-dark room, and the only light able to get into the small space was through a little window at the top of the room. It reminded me of a jail cell, but without the bars and the horrible treatment that came along with it.

Along with my alertness of my surroundings, came all other senses too. Pain, hunger, exhaustion, pain, and some more pain. I was thirsty too, my mouth feeling raw and dry, and I had an increasing sense of dread build up in my gut. It was a weird feeling, but I just pushed it aside for now.

My back ached from the crudely-made cot that I had been resting in and my whole body surged with pain, but I was determined to find out why I was here, when I got here, and when I will be allowed to leave. After all, I am the savior of this land, am I not?

I had not taken three steps from my cot until the door opened in front of me, casting the room with sunshine, and with the sunshine came a young woman. But it was not the sudden sunshine, nor the bowl of water she was carrying in her hand that made me blanch and quiver back in fear. It was her clothing, the same kind clothing that I had seen in the series of visions and pictures in the forest, that shot fear through my mind. Images from before came back to me, and I was about to call for help, but I saw the woman's eyes. Her eyes held no evil intent in them, no malice, but I was still suspicious because of the odd-colour that her eyes had possessed. Her red orbs surveyed the room before landing on me, her face melting into a warm smile, "Good morning, Miss. I see you have awakened, and at the most opportune moment, it would be best if you would see our Leader with the two men that accompanied you."

The two men.

Oh my Goddesses! Link and Link! I completely forgot about them. What if they're hurt, or worse, dead, and I-

Wait- wait. Calm down, Terra. Back up, they have to be fine, because how else could I have gotten here?

Swallowing my fear and resentment, I limped after the young woman, following her as she led me to their apparent leader. The funny thing was, actually it wasn't that funny, I was only limping because each step I took, my hand throbbed in agony.

Seeing me hobble after her, she asked, her voice laced with worry, "Surely you are not hurt elsewhere? The two men informed me that it was only your hand…"

Before I could answer her, we turned around a corner, and I found myself in fairly small room. Looking around, I didn't notice the three other in the room until one spoke, scaring me half to death and causing me to whip my hand back for the Sword, "Oh, Terra! You're awake and well, I see?"

I stopped my panicking, however, as I heard Sane Link's voice float up to me like it was a sign from God that everything was going to be fine. Seeing that I had relaxed, a new voice spoke, "Terra, I have heard many things from you." My panicked gaze shot towards a middle-aged woman sitting upright in a chair in the corner of the room. As if sensing my uneasiness, the Hero of Time assured me that, "everything would be fine and to sit down so that we could talk."

I sat down in a chair provided to me, and I asked the first question that had been haunting me since I woke up, "What happened?"

--

I stared at the new face in shock, and wonder, as she explained what had happened from the Zora pool when I met the Sage of Water to where I had been pushed into Shiekah care by the two heroes.

After I had obtained the Medallion of Water, something had happened to me. My understanding was that I had a seizure on the ground, muttering a series of names that were as foreign to me as wearing a dress by my own will, before collapsing in a heap of my own vomit and blood. I was then rushed towards here, now known to me as the Hidden Village, by the two heroes, so that I would not die.

Die from what, though?

I asked slowly, my question directed to anyone in the room who could answer it, "What would have killed me?"

There was a pause, a dreadfully long pause that made me think nobody heard me, but my answer finally came, "The scar on your hand – we discovered what it was and how we can stop it from ripping you to shreds," hesitation radiated from the Hero of Time before he swallowed it down and continued, "The scar is pure dark magic, left over from when the Evil King used the Triforce of Power, and it is trying to steal your soul away and possess your body," A pause was the only thing that remained, this one longer than the last, before the unfamiliar woman took his place.

"Each time your hand would convulse and you would collapse from the pain, the scar would grow larger and expand, correct?" After seeing my cautious nod, she continued, "As soon as the scar envelops your whole arm, it will move throughout your body, and once it has covered most of it, the evil magic will be allowed access to your heart, your soul, where it will do the most damage."

Not allowing me to say my opinion on the matter, Sane Link took up the 'stage', " With the Triforce of Power, the evil magic will do whatever it wishes, destroying anything in its path, in order to obtain the other two pieces of the Triforce to gain ultimate power,"

In Sane Link's pause, I saw an opportunity, "So you two got me here just in time, right?"

At the woman's 'yes', I realized something. I still didn't know who she was, and that made me nervous. Before that though, "Where's my sword?"

The answer to my question came in the form of a shrill ring, as the Hero of Time drew my sword from its scabbard. I never noticed the sheath before, but it was on the Hero of Time's backside. The blade caught the firelight, reflecting it across the whole room, before it floated over to me on its own accord.

Feeling the reassuring pulse of the Master Sword flow through me once more as my fingers brushed the hilt, I asked the woman, "Who exactly are you?"

My question was answered, "Why, my dear, I'm Impa." She took a breath and held out her hand, "The Sage of Shadow."

* * *

**AN: We're not done with the Sage of Shadow yet, there is more to be revealed. Thanks for all the reviews and hits so far, guys! :D**

If you haven't voted on the poll, please do so, as it's important to get as many honest votes as possible.

**Thanks, and **_review_** please! **


	35. The Hidden Village

HAPPY CANADA DAY, fellow Canadians. 

**AN: A bounty of information awaits thee in this chapter of Awakening to Hyrule. **

_IMPORTANT: _I have uploaded an image of Terra before Awakening to Hyrule on my deviantart account, if any of you want to check it out. The link is in my profile.

**I hope you enjoy! :D**

_**Chapter 35**_

_**The Hidden Village**_

"_Why, my dear, I'm Impa. The Sage of Shadow."_

I, cautiously, took her hand and shook it up and down in greeting. When our hands parted, I noticed something cold and purple remain in my palm. My eyes lit up. I recognized what it was, "The Shadow Medallion?"

"Yes, Terra. You hold the Shadow Medallion, the second last medallion to go before your fight against Ganondorf," Came the Hero of Time's reply, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Sane Link nodding in agreement.

Seeing my befuddled stare, Impa chuckled and said, "There is one last Sage for you three to find, being the Sage of Light," Seeing my still confused expression, she continued, "The Sage of Light, Rauru, does not have a temple. At least, not anymore,"

That was all she said. All three were staring at me expectantly, and I couldn't help but blush a little. I was never good at solving riddles.

Okay, okay. Think, Terra. What temple doesn't exist anymore? The Temple of-

"The Temple of Light?" I offered, but after I saw Impa chuckle a little, I knew I was wrong. Shoot.

"Close," said Sane Link, "It's actually called the Temple of Time."

My annoyed expression must have showed, but I didn't care at the moment because I had a question that needed to be answered, "If the temple is called the Temple of Time, then why is the Sage of Light connected to it? That doesn't make any sense, it should be the Sage of Time!"

The Hero of Time shook his head, "No, that is the right terminology. Remember when I told you about the Sacred Realm that could be accessed from the Temple of Time?"At my nod, he continued, "Because the Triforce used to reside in the Sacred Realm, the Sacred Realm was in light and full of good things. The Sage of Light's job was to stay in the Sacred Realm for eternity to guard the Triforce against evil, but he was overpowered by Ganondorf when he touched the Triforce,"

"And then the Sacred Realm was turned into a world of monsters and evil. Seven years later, you emerged at the age of seventeen, and fought to free the sages to destroy Ganondorf and to rescue the Princess Zelda of that era," I added. Impa nodded in confirmation, obviously impressed by my knowledge of the past. The mention of Princess Zelda brought my mood down considerably, but I didn't let it show. The same thing could very well happen to me, but I am not going to give up without a fight. All of Hyrule, and possibly my world, are at stake.

"Getting back on topic," the Hero of Time paused, to catch my attention, before continuing, "The terminology of the Sage of Light makes sense if you think about it and if you are aware of the ancient past, before I was born and before Ganondorf conquered Hyrule."

I nodded at the explanation, satisfied. I opened the small brown pouch where the other medallions were, and put the Shadow medallion in with the others. I felt my energy level rise and my spirits soar, as another Sage's power was added to mine. The Hero of Time had experienced the same effects when he was freeing the Sages, so he assured me that the feeling was normal.

Well, I would hope so.

--

I couldn't get over the eerie feeling that this village possessed. Everybody in the small community was staring at me ever since I was conscious, as if they were wary and suspicious of me.

Impa had told me that their natural suspicion of strangers have kept them alive through the toughest of times, so I guess them being suspicious of me is a good thing, but it still makes me feel like an intruder.

Their red eyes felt like they were glaring into my soul, and I instinctively scowled back at them. I had not told the Hero of Time, Impa, nor Sane Link about my vision in the forest about that strange Shiekah yet, but I think it's a good idea that I do it as soon as possible.

With that thought in mind, I drew the Master Sword from its scabbard, marveling at the reflections and the design of the sword. It gave a little ring in response, and I allowed a small smile to form on my lips. That sound always made my tension go away, if only for a few minutes.

I was still confused about the 'information session' that I had experienced a few hours ago. Impa had explained that the scar is extremely bad, and after poking and proding it for a few minutes (it felt like hours), the Sage of Shadow informed us that Ganondorf would have to be defeated in the next couple of weeks or else.

Joy.

I had learned that we still had one last sage to find, the Sage of Light, before we could enter Ganondorf's black castle – currently in the place of the original Hyrule Castle.

I had also learned that, without the protection of the six sages, the abundance of evil inside the castle would cause me to transform back into my coyote form – something that I did not want to do ever again. That meant that I would have to venture alone in the castle, as well as fight Ganondorf alone, further increasing my chances of death.

Both of the heroes came to the conclusion that I am ready to face Ganondorf and all of his evil minions on my own, but I highly doubt I would be able to last a few seconds against that man – let alone kill him.

So, with my thoughts dangerously bordering on 'Holy crap, I'm gonna die,' and 'I'm screwed. I'm screwed. I'm screwed,', I continued to explore the small village.

I felt my hand give a violent shake, and I looked down. The Master Sword was vibrating wildly, and I had no clue why, but as quickly as it came…it stopped.

I stared down at it for a minute, eyebrow raised, wondering what was wrong with my sword.

Then it happened. The sword vibrated again, but this time pain accompanied it. The excruciating pain flowed through my whole body, and I felt the scar slither its way to envelop the rest of my arm, stopping at my shoulder blade.

I crumpled to the ground in a heap when the pain finally went away. As if the Shiekahs weren't staring at me before, they sure were now. I heard remarks among the crowd that had gathered such as, "She's got the Triforce of Power!" or "She's possessed!"

My eyes returned to their relaxed state when I spotted both heroes pushing their way through the crowd. They must have known it had happened.

Not wanting to squat any longer, I stood up slowly. I winced as the pain started up again in my head, but it gradually subsided and I was left with a dull ache throughout my body.

I had thought I was okay. I had thought I had recovered. But, as soon as I heard Sane Link clear his throat to explain what had happened, I felt something.

It wasn't pain, and it definitely wasn't a good feeling. My eyes widened and I felt the colour drain from my face when I realized what I was feeling. It was the same sensation that I had experienced just before Princess Zelda was murdered. A feeling of foreboding.

As Sane Link was explaining to the crowd, with expressive hand actions, I approached the Hero of Time and hissed in his ear, "Do you feel that?"

He glanced at me and whispered back, but not in my ear, "Feel what?"

I sighed, he obviously didn't feel it, "This feeling of foreboding. It was the same feeling that I had before the Pri-"

"See! Those two are whispering! They're obviously conspirising against us. I heard the woman start to say something about the Princess' death!"

I glared at the outspoken Shiekah man, who was pointing at the Hero of Time and I as if we had committed a terrible crime, and that shut him up pretty fast.

Or so I thought, "She's a demon!" The man pointed directly at me. As if my glare couldn't get any worse…it just did.

Muttering under my breath in annoyance, "I'm not a demon you little twit."

The arrogant and rude man heard my muttering and demanded, "What did you just say? You're trying to cast a spell you minion of Ganondorf!"

A growl forced its way out of my throat, but before I could retort, the Hero of Time beat me to it, "She is not a minion of Ganondorf, sir. She is a proud heroine that plans to destroy him and his followers and save Hyrule from the claws of darkness."

Feeling proud from the Hero of Time's praise, I announced (loud and clear), "I, dear sir, will most likely save your ass from destruction," I paused, to see his reaction. It was hilarious, because his face was turning red in anger, so I continued, "I had said that I wasn't a little demon, you little twit."

His angered expression turned into a confused frown, "What's a twit?"

I could have laughed, and I almost did. I had forgotten that these Hylian morons didn't understand the modern Earth lingo. No offence to Sane Link, the Sages, or the Hero of Time, but Hylians are generally stupid and I was going to exploit it. Fully.

**AN: I added some humour, as a break from all of the dark elements in the story. **

If you have not looked at the picture of 'pre-Awakening to Hyrule' Terra, I suggest you do it now. The link to my deviantart account is in my profile.

_**Also, if you have not voted on the poll, please do it now.**_** The current results are:**

**Awakening to Hyrule – 6 votes**

'**Rebel' – 4 votes**

**Phantomized Hourglass – 1 vote.**

**The rest of them – 0 votes. **

I invite you to review!


	36. I'm sorry

**To all readers and reviewers of Awakening to Hyrule**

Please be aware that, due to personal reasons, Awakening to Hyrule will be TEMPORARILY discontinued. My Nonna has been in the hospital for the past couple of days, and she has passed away today at the age of eighty-two. I have never experienced a family death until now, and let me tell you, it feels like your heart is being gnawed and suffocated in cold and you feel empty and hollow inside.

I will be continuing Awakening to Hyrule, as I already have the outline done, but it will probably not be updated again until September(ish).

I am sorry for any inconvience...

...(sobs)


	37. A Brief ‘Break’ from Being A Heroine

**AN: I am going to say something…**

**WTF has happened to all my reviewers and readers? Is it just because it's summer, or did I do something horribly wrong to the story? **

**Anywho, the next chapter! (About the title…I'm Sorry! I just couldn't resist! XD)**

_NOTE AS OF JULY 31/2008 (PLEASE READ!):_ AS MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE, THERE HAS BEEN A DEATH IN THE FAMILY ON JULY 17. THE FIRST PART OF THIS CHAPTER (UP TO WHEN THEY GOT ON THEIR HORSES AND STARTED HEADING TOWARDS THE TEMPLE OF TIME) WAS WRITTEN _BEFORE_ ANY OF THIS CRAP HAD HAPPENED. THE REST OF THE CHAPTER IS A BIT DARK AND ANGSTY, BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU GET. Sorry.

* * *

_**Chapter 36**_

_**A Brief 'Break' from Being A Heroine**_

* * *

The sun beat down on my back as if it were a giant drum, and the distinct sound of cicadas would forever be burned into my memory.

My eyes wandered back to the fishing line, and I sighed in frustration. The fish weren't biting today.

Come to think of it, were the fish _ever_ biting whenever I threw my line into the water?

Nope.

And now, I'm sitting here in the little pond by the Zora River, the one that leads into the Zora's Shrine. I'm roasting my skin off, I'm miserable, and I don't want to fish anymore. But no, what did the Hero of Time do? He rented a canoe for me so that it would "help my fishing skills improve."

I swear. He did that on purpose just to watch me suffer.

My ears perked up at a splash in the water, and I could only roll my eyes in annoyance. How many fish had Sane Link caught so far? Six? Eight? I've lost count.

Sane Link, nevertheless, beamed when he pulled in another Hylian Bass into the small canoe from across the lake. The Hero of Time had rented us each our own boat, so we could fish and not be distracted from each other. I heard the Hero of Time chuckle from underneath the beautiful arch made up of natural rock in the middle of the pond, "Nice catch there, Link!"

Sane Link grinned and glanced at the Hero of Time from his boat, "Thanks, Link!"

I rolled my eyes again, clearly not amused at the boys' antics.

I watched as Sane Link carefully removed the hook from the fish's mouth before putting the flopping fish back into the water. The Hylian Bass swam away quickly as soon as it was in contact with the water, hopefully to tell all of his fishy friends to bite my hook instead.

I rested the fishing pole up against my chest, and laid down in the canoe, stretching my legs to their full length. Because the small boat wasn't able to contain both of my legs at once while I was laying down, I had to put one over the side of the boat. This simple action caused the small wooden canoe to lean to one side. All would have been well, if it wasn't for an unusually high wave to hit the opposite side of the boat. I yelped as my body came into contact with the lukewarm water. My feet touched the sandy and muddy bottom of the pond, and I used it to my advantage. With a desperate push with my feet, I breached the surface of the water and gasped for air. In the distance, I could hear both of the boys crack up in laughter and Henna, the fishing pond's owner, chuckled a little bit as well.

I only turned around in the water and glared at the capsized canoe as I treaded water in the pond. Stupid cheap piece of junk.

…And to think this was supposed to be a vacation.

--

"I can't believe you actually fell into the water!"

"Link," I snapped, "Drop it." I was getting extremely irritated, as the Hero of Time wouldn't leave me alone about my 'accident' in the pond just hours previous.

The Hero of Time did as he was told, but that smirk was still stuck on his face. He would forget the whole thing in a couple of hours. I hope.

The Hero of Time approached his horse and mounted. Sane Link did the same and I got on behind him, sitting awkwardly in the saddle. We were headed towards our destination: The Ruins of the Temple of Time so that we could call upon the power of the Sage of Light to receive the final medallion.

--

Time Lapse. Unknown.

--

I wish I could say that everything went well and we arrived at the Temple of Time's ruins, we got the Light medallion, and we defeated Ganondorf once and for all.

Unfortunately, things did not tip in our favour in the scale of life.

Somewhere between the fishing hole and the Temple of Time, Ganondorf and his minions ambushed us in the darkness of the night. They were hiding behind trees, in bushes, and behind massive cliffs and completely surprised us. The two moblins in front pierced the hearts of the two steeds, and while the horses were falling, four more moblins grabbed a hold of both Links. My memory is a little foggy, but I remember running for my survival away into the unknown forests beyond, over the small cliff bordering the Faron portion of Hyrule Field. I was trailed and tracked in the unknown forest for days, until finally the evil minons gave up the chase and went back the way they came. They had probably assumed that I had perished in my flight.

As far as I know, the two heroes are probably being 'questioned' about where I am or where I could be. If they aren't already dead.

The Master Sword rumbled in response, trying to soothe my frazzled and stressed nerves. It didn't work, at least not this time.

I sighed, the truth finally starting to sink in. I'm royally screwed and I'll end up dead just like Princess Zelda and the two Links. I might as well give up, and then maybe Ganondorf will give me a quick death, though I doubt he would.

My chest felt hollow and empty, and I felt like I would just melt from all the sorrow and despair. Why me? I know I'm a 'Heroine', but what am I supposed to do without the Hero of Time guiding me? How will I keep myself sane without the two making fun of each other and annoying the heck out of me?

I won't. Game over.

--

Unknown Place and Time.

--

"You piece of shit! Tell me right _now_ where she is or your life will be forfeit!" The furious voice of an evil man thundered though out the castle.

An equally angry, but weaker voice growled out, "Even if I did know where she was, I would not tell the likes of you," A pause and then the man said with a scowl on his bloody face, "Besides, you would kill me regardless,"

"Silence, _Hero of Time_, I do not need your lip!"

A scream echoed throughout the dark castle…

--

Unknown Forest. Dusk.

--

It was useless. I won't be able to hunt for myself, because the Hero of Time had my bow when we left for the Temple. It's not like I can just throw the Master Sword and expect an animal to stay still for it, could I? No, I need food. And I must find a way to get it.

--

The Dark Castle. Dungeons, Cell 82

--

A hoarse voice broke the silence of the dirty, damp, and horrible smelling jail cell. It was the voice of a man, talking to his shadow imp companion.

"Mid…na. Please fi..nd Te..rra and tell her to st…st…ay away."

The twilight imp frowned in worry as the man struggled to speak, but waited nevertheless.

"Why, Link?"

"It's a…a…trap."

With that, the man drifted into unconsciousness. The shadow of the twilight imp could be seen floating through the window bars of the cell and into the rising darkness of night. She had to find Terra, she just had to. For the Twilight Realm…no, for Hyrule.

--

Unknown Forest. Night.

--

I had still not had any luck finding an animal that has a death wish, but I did find a little stream through the thick underbrush. I had read in a book somewhere on Earth, that you could survive for weeks without any food but your dead if you don't have anything to drink in a few days.

I had not encountered any enemies either, did they not want to go into this forest either? What was so bad about it?

With that thought in mind, I poured the medallions out of their pouch and fingered each one until I came across Shadow. Impa never did tell me what the medallion did, did she? Neither did Ruto because she didn't have the chance to inform me what the Water Medallion was able to do before the scar almost killed me.

I already knew, from the other sages, what the other ones did. The Forest Medallion was able to call upon the spirits of the forest to make foliage instantly grow on command, the Fire Medallion had the power to reincarnate an ancient fire-breathing dragon from long ago, and the Spirit Medallion enabled me to call upon the spirits of the dead to fight by my side. I did not know what the last three did, Shadow, Water, and Light. I didn't even possess the Light Medallion yet, so I should not worry about that one at the moment.

I traced my fingers around the water medallion and it softly glowed. I recoiled. Whoa, that's weird. I heard voices, I'm positive I did. I repeated the action, and the Water Medallion glowed a soft hue of blue again. I heard a feminine voice call out, 'Terra, is that you? I heard what had happened and I'm so sorry!'

Ruto.

I responded through my thoughts, 'It's not your fault. What does the Water Medallion do? What is its special power?'

A pause, and then she answered, 'The Water Medallion grants its user the ability to spawn water wherever. Even in the desert or in a volcano.'

Well, crap. I could have used that power ages ago instead of searching for water, I could have made my own if I would have known that.

'Ruto,' I asked, 'Do you know what the Shadow Medallion does?'

A longer pause. I thought she had hung up until, 'I am not sure. Impa did not explain it very well, but she had said that it reverts someone to their inner self. Whatever that means.'

Okay, that made no sense. Next question.

'Sorry, just another question,' I continued before Ruto could say anything, 'Do you know what the Light Medallion does? I don't have it yet, but I will get it soon…'

A pause, again, 'Terra, the Light Medallion is the mother of all medallions. It has the ability to channel the other medallions' power in order to conquer evil'

Okay so, I obviously need that one before I try to kill Ganondorf. Well, crap it.

* * *

**AN: A plot twist. Whee. I know I said that I wouldn't update until September, but I needed something to do. I already beat a couple of games, so this was the next best thing. There's a couple of references in this chapter, see if you spot them. (Chapter title. XD) **

**I invite you to review. **


	38. Inner Beast

**AN: Okay guys, don't kill me. Please don't kill me. It's January...the new year… I know, and my last update before this was in like…August? I don't even remember. **

**In order to begin to write this chapter, after taking such a long break from writing, I had to reread my story. That took a while. Then school got in the way, before I knew it Halloween was here, then Thanksgiving, Remembrance Day, Christmas, then New Years. It feels like it's still September, darn it! **

**But now, I'm back (in black? xD) and with a new chapter. I hope this one is as good as the other ones, but because I haven't written anything in months, it'll probably be an epic fail chapter.**

**(To be honest, I'm not even sure anyone cares about this story anymore…)**

**So, without any further delay…here's Chapter 37.**

**Oh, wait. I hope everyone has had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. **

_**Chapter 37**_

_Inner Beast_

_A longer pause. I thought she had hung up until, 'I am not sure. Impa did not explain it very well, but she had said that it reverts someone to their inner self. Whatever that means.'_

_Okay, that made no sense. Next question._

'_Sorry, just another question,' I continued before Ruto could say anything, 'Do you know what the Light Medallion does? I don't have it yet, but I will get it soon…'_

_A pause, again, 'Terra, the Light Medallion is the mother of all medallions. It has the ability to channel the other medallions' power in order to conquer evil'_

_Okay so, I obviously need that one before I try to kill Ganondorf. Well, crap it. _

---

As I sat there in the forest, legs crossed and with a scowl on my face, I wondered what Ruto meant by that. What is my inner self, exactly?

Before I could think on that topic much longer, something scurrying through the bushes caught my eye. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion before approaching the bush in question. I slowly parted the thick branches of the underbrush, and saw something that made my mouth water. A piece of medium-rare steak with extra barbeque sauce.

Okay, not really. It was actually a rabbit, a very tasty looking rabbit at that.

I stared at it and its beady little eyes stared back at me. My nose twitched in anticipation as I reached for the Master Sword, ready to slice the creature in two. My hand reached the hilt and I was about to draw the sword when…

_Screeeeech!_

Out of nowhere, a giant owl swooped in and captured the fat rabbit in its talons before flapping away – a little unsteadily at that – and landed in a nearby tree.

Crap. There goes my dinner.

I growled and glared at the owl as it started to kill the poor creature, and my eyes narrowed even further at the bold owl when it hooted at me.

Stupid bird.

---

Change POV. Midna.

---

I have to warn her not to go try to seek out Ganondorf yet, because it's a trap. She better not be on her way right now or…or-

I paused in my frantic thinking.

But where to look for her? I have already checked the most obvious spots – previous dungeons, the springs, Ordon, and Hyrule city. Nothing. She wouldn't go into the Sacred Forest by herself, so that leaves two more places.

Without any hesitation, I headed towards the Lost Woods. I prayed she wouldn't be there however, because whoever goes in…never return.

---

Change POV. Terra.

---

_Thunk._

_Hoot. Hoot._

Ugh. Darn it. Why can't I throw a stupid rock high enough to hit that owl? Maybe I can eat it instead of the already-been-digested rabbit.

With another stone in my filthy hand, I threw it as high as I could towards the bird. I watched in dismay as gravity forced it back down and it landed on the ground with the others with a thunk.

Okay, this obviously isn't going to work.

Crossing my arms in anger, I decided it would be best to continue on through this cursed forest.

I turned around, still grumbling under my breath about my lost meal, and started to walk in a random direction through the forest.

While I was trudging through the dense underbrush that scratched my legs and ripped my tunic, my thoughts kept on wandering to both Links. The Hero of Time and the Hero of Twilight.

I wondered if they were okay – and even alive – as my confidence in their survival dwindled more and more every day. But I was determined to not give up. As soon as I got out of this accursed forest, I was somehow going to acquire the Light Medallion and hunt down Ganondorf. Like how a wolf would stalk it's prey before eating it.

Except, I wouldn't be eating Ganondorf. That would give me rabies or something, for all I knew.

I would, instead, ban his existence by sealing him back in the Sacred Realm and if I couldn't do that…I would kill him.

Of course, killing him would prove to be a great feat because my sword skills are still nowhere as good as the Hero of Time's skill with the sword, that much I know, so I would probably last a few seconds against the Evil King.

But still, it wouldn't hurt to try. After all, didn't the Hero of Twilight once say that I was the Heroine of Hyrule or something along those lines?

Me? Heroine? Ha.

With that thought in mind, I looked towards the darkening sky and tried to tell the time by the position of the sun. The trees made that impossible, of course, because all I could see of the sky is a small sliver that was steadily growing darker.

It must be dusk already.

Knowing that I would have to find a place to sleep sooner or later, and ignoring my aching stomach, I started to look for a suitable tree that I could lean up against when there was that pain again.

The pain from my scar wasn't as bad as before, but it still hurt like there was no tomorrow. The throbbing pain was in time with the beating of my heart and the rhythm of my breathing as I tried to force the pain back into my body. Not now. Please not now.

I felt my vision slowly fade out into darkness and my sense of hearing slowly followed. Then…

Darkness. Silence. Death.

---Time Lapse. Unknown.---

I awoke with a start, panting for air with my tongue out like a dog.

Wasn't I dead?

I slowly got up, testing the waters, before doing anything drastic like starting to walk. I didn't want to pass out again.

When I reached my feet, however, something was definitely….wrong. First, it was the improved senses of smell and hearing. Next, I noticed that I had four pairs of legs and no arms.

The idea hit me like how a freight train would squash an innocent marshmellow on the tracks.

I was a coyote again. I didn't know why, I didn't know how, but all I knew that I was a coyote.

That, and I was hungry. Very hungry.

With that thought in my canine mind, I felt a growl deep in my chest and started off to hunt. For food. For survival.

**AN: I'm leaving it here, sorry, but I want to get this chapter out as soon as possible. **

**Please review guys, if not to comment on this chapter but to tell me if you care about my story anymore. Thanks. **


	39. Predator

**AN: Exams are over. **

**And I made a New Years revelation. I'm going to (try) to post 1 chapter a month until this story is finished. The story's almost done, so it's not long now…**

**Thanks for the support, once again, to all of my readers and reviewers. It means a lot!**

**Anyways, on to the next chapter! **

**Chapter 38**

**Predator**

My nostrils seemed to flare as I took in everything around me and the new senses I have acquired.

Somehow, I had shifted into my reddish-brown coyote form without the use of the evil crystal, and that freaked me out because without that crystal I probably wouldn't be able to change back.

So I'll be stuck in my canine form, until I find Link and the crystal that is.

With that morose thought in mind, I padded through the forest, seemingly content with my new form.

Being a coyote wasn't as good as being a human, but Goddesses did it feel great! I could smell and hear much better than any human ever could and I also had four legs…which meant I could run faster and longer than a human.

But not a wol-

My thought was interrupted by a rustling sound in the forest. My ears went back so they touched my head and my hackles raised as I prepared to face whatever was in the forest with me. My lips curled back into a fierce snarl as I turned to face the sound.

My amber eyes locked on to the precise place where the bushes were rustling and I crouched in preparation to pounce when I heard a familiar voice cry out, "Wait! Don't attack me!"

My body language didn't compile with the request, though, and I was still on the defensive.

As a figure started to emerge from the bushes, I stopped my growling immediately and relaxed.

It was Midna, it all of her leg and arm glowing glory, coming out of the bush with a leaf stuck in her mouth.

I let out a sound that was supposed to be a snicker, but ended up being a weird growling-like sound instead.

Midna sighed in relief as she realized it was me who she had found, "Terra! You have no idea how long I've been looking for you?"

'How long? A couple of seconds? And where's the two Links?', I meant to say, but all that came out was a series of gruffs, whines, and rumblings in my throat.

As if she understood my canine language, she sighed and spoke, "Terra, I've been looking for you for weeks. And the two Links are stuck in Ganondorf's castle, praying to the Goddesses for you to not save them because it's a trap."

I cocked my head in questioning, 'What kind of trap?' Again, only growls and whimpers were heard.

"A trap that will kill you and Hyrule's hope."

My reply was a snort, which she took as a 'whatever', and huffed at me. "Terra, honestly, you have no idea how much you resemble the Hero of Time in terms of your courage and attitude! Let's go, though…we have another medallion to collect."

Oh yes, that's right. The Light Medallion. Goody.

---

I panted heavily as I dodged yet another attack from the crazed dead rotting hand. It had tried to grab me and choke the life out of me, but I skitted away just in time as the rough fingernails gripped nothing but air.

I growled as Midna's voice floating down to be from where she was perched on my back – I now knew how Link felt whenever Midna sat on his back when he was a wolf, "Terra! You're not doing it right! Aim for the middle of the palm and attack it! Tear it to shreds!"

With a growl rising in my throat, I did as she commanded. After all, her words of wisdom was the only thing that kept me alive through this dreaded forest.

Yes, I was still in the forest, hunting for the Light Medallion, and judging by the frequency of the monsters and other life-threatening things, we were getting close to it.

I tore into the creature's palm, instantly killing the creature, and continued to trot deeper into the forest.

After all, I was a predator. Predators don't have any remorse for those they have killed.

**AN: Yes, I'm going to stop there. Because, um, I have ran into a writer's block for this part of the story and I couldn't write anymore. I've been stuck for a day or so now, so I give up. I'm going to post this, I'll hopefully get reviews, and then in a month or so I'll post another chapter.**

**The story's almost over. I'm guessing maybe 4 more chapters to go. (This chapter was a filler one, so it doesn't really count as a chapter.) **

**Please review. **


	40. Distractions

**AN: Wow. It's been a month and a bit already? Time flies. **

**Speaking of time flying, I've got bad news. It's got 'something' to do with this story, so go to my deviantart account (link is in my profile) and read the latest journal entry. **

**After all. A story can't be updated if the author's dead, now can it? **

_**Chapter 39**_

Distractions

My head whipped around and a snarl let itself loose from my muzzle. My eyes were flaming with anger.

My opponent seemed to waver for a moment, as if unsure to attack me again. It snorted and its eyes were wide with fear.

I felt another growl rise in my throat and I took a step forward, murder in my eyes. The creature mirrored my movement, except its eyes were full of fear instead of a murderous intent.

All of a sudden, the creature jumped backwards from its perch on the ground and landed on a conveniently placed boulder well above my reach.

I glared at it. Little creatures shouldn't be able to jump that high and not kill themselves.

Restraining another growl, I padded towards the creature again, my eyes moving to what its claws clutched.

A piece of meat. My piece of meat.

I decided to try a new tactic. If using physical force wasn't going to get my piece of meat back…

"Midna," I tried to complain. All that came out of my muzzle was a flurry of gruffs and yips because a coyote's jaw isn't fit for speaking.

"Woof to you too," The twilight imp answered back. Her toothy grin signified that she was mocking me.

I snorted in amusement and stamped one of my paws, "Midna. You can understand me. We established that already. Now," I paused before putting on my best begging act. My ears were pulled back and my tail tucked itself between my legs a little bit. My eyes were downcast as I whimpered out, "can you please give me my piece of meat back? I really want to look for the Links. You've distracted me long enough."

Rolling her eyes at my antics, she tossed me the piece of meat and made an action of dusting off her hands. I couldn't help an excited yip escape my maw as I saw the meat descending towards me. I leapt up and caught it.

After I had finished eating, which didn't take very long because the piece of meat was pretty small, I glared at Midna again. She was still on that boulder and I couldn't get to her. It was too high up.

"Seriously, Terra. You can be so uptight. I told you already, the Links are relatively fine," Midna tried to reassure me as she climbed onto my furry back. I wasn't reassured and narrowed my eyes in suspicion at her figure.

"Relatively?" Barks and growls, again.

At that, Midna thought for a moment, her actions frozen. She was still trying to figure out the least painful way (for her) to get herself on my back. As if somebody pressed 'play' on a DVD player, Midna's actions continued and she seated herself on my back.

"They've both been hurt worse before. Whippings won't break them."

I stared at her stupidly, "Midna. They will break eventually, and then they'll give away everything."

"I can't let you go look for them again. You'll get yourself hurt."

I sighed. If I could rub my temples, I would. "Midna. Your talking like my mother back on Earth. You say it's a trap," I paused, mostly for dramatic effect, "and I say that it's worth the risk. I'm not facing Ganondorf alone."

"Your right." This time, the twilight imp paused. She gave me that toothy smirk again, "You're not going to face Ganondorf alone. You have the sages' powers. Or, most of them. We still need to find the Light Medallion."

I sighed, yet again. This time, the sigh had a defeated ring to it.

Midna was right. We still couldn't find the Light Medallion. Nothing in the forest struck us as being odd or out of place – we had been wandering the place for a couple of days now. There were no sign of dungeon entrances, and practically no danger besides the occasional wolfos or stalfos.

The realization hit me like a speeding freight train.

We were looking in the wrong place.

**AN: Another short chapter. I'm sorry, but I ran into the wall again. You know, the wall that has 'writer's block' graffiti-ed on it? Yeah, that one. **

**Still a bit more to go with the story. **

**Please review. **


	41. The Path

AN: So. I guess I'm averaging a chapter a month now. Or something like that.

Oh. And I had to re-do this chapter because I started writing a horror one-shot. And I didn't want that. By the time this chapter gets out, hopefully that one would have been read. Be warned though, it's…different.

_**Chapter 40**_

_The Path_

We had to be looking in the wrong place. After all, where else could the light medallion be? I barked my question out loud to Midna, earning a shrug from her.

Oh, how helpful you are.

"Terra," Midna started. I glanced at her and she continued, somewhat out of breath, "It's time to stop and rest for a while."

I glanced at her small body. Sure enough, even her posture looked tired. We have been traveling for the past several hours, and even when I thought about it, my body started to ache.

Oh, how I wished for a hot bath right now.

---

"Terra, it's time to wake up!"

I growled weakly in protest.

"Terra," small fingers pried my eyelids open. I resisted the urge to snap at the small imp. "Get up."

Reluctantly, I slowly got up and shook myself, causing my fur to wave wildly in all directions. When I settled down, Midna hopped on my back, and pointed somewhere off to the left. I glanced at the ominous cave. Was she serious?

I felt her nod on my back, as if to say yes.

Oh, great.

I shook my head in protest, but she kicked my sides and stated, "Terra, we haven't looked in there yet."

She was right.

I trotted into the boring looking cave, jutting out of a small cliff-face. Quite frankly, it looked out of place in a lush forest, but who was I to complain? Only one more medallion to go, then I can free the Links and successfully kill Ganondorf once and for all.

Inside, the wide-mouthed cavern quickly turned cramped. My fur brushed against the rough cave walls, and a distinct musty smell hit my nose. Fighting off the urge to hurl, or run away, I pressed on into the narrow hallway. My ears twitched instinctively, on guard for any danger, and my eyes peered ahead of me in an alert fashion.

For what felt like days, Midna later informed me that it had only been a couple of hours, I pushed on. There were times I could not make through the tight passage, thus forcing me to use my claws to dig my way through, but yet there were other times where the cavern was so massive that three horses could easily walk side-by-side.

At long last, the cave came to an end. A dead end. About to chastise Midna for her stupidity, my eyes caught a light. Something was shimmering in the cave walls. I cautiously walked over to the strange object, and upon closer inspection, the bright object turned out to be not an object at all. It was a small crack – only a little bigger than the width of a hair – but light shone through it as if it were a sunroof. Unsure what to do, I stood there. Upon hearing Midna's exclamation of, 'Well, what are you waiting for?' I gave a snort of annoyance and started digging my way through the tough walls – towards the blinding light.

The sound of my claws scraping against the earth filled my ears as I dug. After awhile of digging, I got used to the rhythmic scrapping sounds, and I could concentrate on other things. Like how a giant hammer suspended on a roof was quickly approaching my face.

_Move!_

I didn't really have time to react. I froze, fear freezing me stiff, as I witnessed the hammer about to cause my demise. Even though I couldn't react, my body tried to anyways. It stiffed up at the last moment and prepared to jump backwards to safety, but there was no time.

The breeze from the hammer's wake rushed pat my ears, making me feel I was in a wind tunnel. My fur blasted back, and I couched down in surprise.

Did the hammer just…go _through me?_

"Watch out, Terra! It's coming back!"

Woosh.

It came from behind and as I turned, and I saw it go through me. The weirdest part is that I felt nothing. Not even a sting of pain. It was like the hammer didn't exist at all.

I had the foresight to think ahead this time. Before Mr. Hammer swung back for another round, I bounded forward, getting out of the way.

And the wall met my face. They got married the instant a sickening crunch resounded throughout the room.

I howled in agony. The coppery taste of blood filtered into my mouth and I coughed. At least, I coughed the best way a coyote could cough.

Midna! Is she okay? I frantically looked around, not seeing her. Midna!?

"I'm on your back, you klutz."

Oh, right. I knew that.

The weight pressing down on my back lifted as Midna got off my back. She walked around me, as if I was a statue on display at an auction.

After a moment, "Terra. Your face is all messed up."

I stared at her as if she was an idiot.

"No, really. It's all bloody."

The same facial expression remained on my face.

Rolling her eyes in – was that amusement? – the imp took a step forward. I flinched at her touch, but otherwise stayed motionless as she prodded my face.

A bit of poking later, "Terra, it's fine. There's only blood cause your muzzle has a cut on it."

Huh. Some cut. It's bleeding over the place.

Some herb gathering, a sigh from the imp, and some time later, I was all bandaged up.

Time for the light medallion.

I approached the entrance to the Temple of Time. A determined expression on my face.

**AN: Don't kill me! –hides-**

**I finally got this done, after working on it on and off for the last few months. Next chapter is the light medallion-getting chapter. It's going to be a big chapter. **

_**PLEASE REVIEW! **_


	42. Good news!

Hello everyone,

I have **good** news. To whoever who is still following this story, that is.

Due to some uncanny twist of fate, I have found the missing plot outline. It turns out, what I 'remembered' and what I actually wrote down years ago are two completely different things.

I have decided: I will finish the story, but first I would like your opinion.

Do you want me to completely rewrite the story BEFORE I finish the last few chapters of this version, or after? My grammar and writing style has improved immensely, and I feel that, if I just continue from where I left off in this version, many readers will feel disorientated from my change in writing style. Besides, and correct me if I'm wrong please, it has been awhile since the last actual chapter, and many of you have probably forgotten what has happened in the story up to this point, so you'll be reading the entire story over again anyways.

Please leave your comments as a review - I'd very much like to hear what you, my readers, would like.

Thank you, and I apologize for any confusion.


	43. Rewrite is now up - go see!

**Hi everyone**,

I decided to go ahead and start rewriting AtH. It is called **_Destinies that_**** Bind**.

A few notes:

- I have not written a story in a long time, so please bear with me while I find my 'groove' again.

- Plot elements will change dramatically and characters; Terra is no longer from another world, for example. Will try to make her not as mary-sueish. Let me know if I'm stepping into that territory.

- Writing style has change dramatically, you won't recognize it.

- And please, please, PLEASE provide me with constructive criticism. Let me know if there are any technical errors, if something wasn't clear or if you think something needs to be described better, etc.

Thanks, and please read + review the first chapter of _**Destines that**_** Bind**. I hope you enjoy it.


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